Attorney General Aaron M. Frey and Multistate Coalition Secure Court Order Blocking Trump Administration from Freezing Federal Funds

MAINE, March 6 - Back to current news.

March 6, 2025
Attorney Generals Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact: Danna Hayes 

Danna.hayes@maine.gov

 

Attorney General Aaron M. Frey and Multistate Coalition Secure Court Order Blocking Trump Administration from Freezing Federal Funds 

 

 

 

AUGUSTA – Attorney General Aaron M. Frey and a coalition of 22 other attorneys general today won a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration to block its illegal policy that would freeze funding for essential federal agency grants, loans, and other financial assistance programs. Judge John J. McConnell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island today granted the preliminary injunction after Attorney General Frey and the coalition sued the Trump administration to stop the funding freeze.  

 

“I believe it was unlawful for the Trump Administration to freeze certain Congressionally-appropriated funds that flow to Maine,” said Attorney General Frey. “This order ensures that these dollars will continue to come to Maine in the interim while my colleagues and I fight in court to insist that the rule of law is followed.” 

 

The administration’s funding freeze policy, issued through an array of actions, including a January 27 memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), illegally withheld trillions of dollars in federal funds for states and other entities like nonprofit organizations and community health centers. The policy caused immediate chaos and uncertainty for millions of Americans who rely on state programs that receive these federal funds. 

 

Attorney General Frey and the coalition sued the administration over the freeze on January 28, and on January 31, the court granted the attorneys general’s request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking the freeze’s implementation until further order from the court. On February 7, Attorney General Frey and the coalition filed motions for enforcement and a preliminary injunction to stop the illegal freeze and preserve federal funding that families, communities, and states rely on. On February 8, the court granted the motion for enforcement, ordering the administration to immediately comply with the TRO and stop freezing federal funds. On February 28, Attorney General Frey and the coalition filed a second motion for enforcement seeking to stop the Trump administration from freezing hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to the states from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 

 

Today, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted Attorney General Frey and the coalition’s request for a preliminary injunction, halting the implementation of the administration’s policy. The Court concluded that the states had demonstrated a high likelihood of success on their claims that the actions making up the funding freeze policy were unlawful. In today’s order, the Court also required the administration to provide evidence of their compliance with regard to unfreezing FEMA funds by March 14 and to alert all agencies about the Court’s order.

 

The lawsuit is led by the attorneys general of California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. Joining the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

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