Judge blasts Trump for ‘irreparable harm’ from funding freeze

By Lesley Clark, Robin Bravender | 01/29/2025 04:35 PM EST

The Trump administration rescinded a memo at the center of a court fight.

President Donald Trump signs the Laken Riley Bill.

President Donald Trump speaks at the White House on Wednesday. Samuel Corum/Sipa USA

A federal court judge sided with a coalition of Democratic state attorneys general Wednesday, saying he is inclined to block the Trump administration from pausing federal funding — even after it rescinded a federal memo at the heart of the case.

“I am very concerned with the irreparable harm which has clearly been put forth,” said Chief Judge John McConnell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, who asked the states to prepare an order for his likely signature. “I’m worried about the effects to the people that the states represent.”

McConnell’s concerns came hours after President Donald Trump sought to circumvent the courts from preventing his administration from carrying out a large-scale freeze of federal funding.

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Hours after a different federal judge blocked Trump’s move to put a hold on federal funding for grants and loans, the administration rescinded the Office of Management and Budget memo at the center of the legal challenge.

The coalition of Democratic attorneys general — who sued on Tuesday to block the funding freeze — pressed McConnell for their own temporary restraining order, arguing that “mass confusion has still reigned,” even after OMB yanked the memo.

“Our concern is that the White House has said that the rescission is essentially meaningless,” said Sarah Rice, an attorney with the state of Rhode Island. “Our state agencies are in desperate need of clarity, of a pause.”

The Trump administration opposed the move, with Department of Justice attorney Daniel Schwei arguing that the restraining order is moot because it seeks relief only from the OMB memo.

“They want it converted into something much broader,” Schwei said.

But McConnell, an Obama nominee, said he was convinced by the states’ arguments that the memo had sown ongoing confusion among federal agencies.

He asked the states to submit a proposed order within 24 hours.

Confusion persists

The White House described the move as an attempt to get around the court order.

“In light of the injunction, OMB has rescinded the memo to end any confusion on federal policy created by the court ruling and the dishonest media coverage,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday in a statement.

But she stressed on social media, “This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze.”

Revoking the memo was an attempt to “end any confusion created by the court’s injunction,” Leavitt said.

Trump’s critics decried his move Wednesday to skirt the court’s ruling.

The “chaos isn’t over,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) posted on the social media site X on Wednesday. “While Trump reverses his position on this freeze every ten minutes … domestic violence shelters, firefighters, and Community Health Centers aren’t sure if they can keep their doors open.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) replied to the White House’s explanation of its move on social media. “To end any confusion, we are going to say one thing and do another,” Ocasio-Cortez said in response to Leavitt’s post. “This is why you should not trust a word this White House says.”

Sen. Dave McCormick, a Pennsylvania Republican and Trump ally, welcomed news that the funding pause had been rescinded Wednesday. “I’m grateful to all the Pennsylvanians who reached out about the Administration’s spending pause over the last 24 hours,” McCormick posted. “The pause has been rescinded. Your input made a difference — thank you.”

McCormick posted again later to say that he had been referring to the memo that had been rescinded, not to Trump’s executive orders directing the review of federal funding.

Trump defended his spending pause Wednesday during remarks at the White House.

“There was a short-term pause or funding freeze on certain discretionary spending — payments such as government grants — only for us to quickly look at the scams, dishonesty, waste and abuse that’s taken place in our government for too long,” he said.

“I’m restating right now to correct any confusion that the media has purposely and somehow, for whatever reason, created: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid have not been affected by any action we’ve taken in any way, shape or form, we are merely looking at parts of the big bureaucracy where there has been tremendous waste and fraud and abuse,” Trump said.

Reporter Manuel Quiñones contributed.