A second federal judge on Thursday extended a block barring the Trump administration from freezing grants and loans potentially totaling trillions of dollars.
U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island granted the preliminary injunction in the lawsuit filed by nearly two dozen Democratic states, including Hawaiʻi, after a Trump administration plan for a sweeping pause on federal spending stirred up a wave of confusion and anxiety across the United States.
The injunction would block the federal government from freezing federal funds being administered through the state, explained Hawaiʻi Deputy Attorney General David Day.
"The people of Hawaiʻi pay billions of dollars in federal taxes every year, and are entitled to receive the benefit of the social compact we have with our federal government," he said. "During the process of this litigation, we received assistance from Hawaiʻi agencies that continue to have federal accounts frozen or subjected to so-called 'holds,' which required a manual re-review of any drawdown of some nominal amount, often $1."
One of the impacted programs was $60 million of federal funding to provide solar power for low-income households in Hawaiʻi. Many other programs were also affected — particularly in the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
" The grants we identified include money for clean energy forest stewardship, the protection of endangered species, homeland security, port security, among other things that we hope will be reopened as a result of this preliminary injunction being issued," Day said.
In his ruling, McConnell said the executive branch was trying to put itself above Congress and by doing so “undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government.”
"The Executive has not pointed to any constitutional or statutory authority that would allow them to impose this type of categorical freeze,” McConnell wrote. “The Court is not limiting the Executive’s discretion or micromanaging the administration of federal funds. Rather, consistent with the Constitution, statutes, and caselaw, the Court is simply holding that the Executive’s discretion to impose its own policy preferences on appropriated funds can be exercised only if it is authorized by the congressionally approved appropriations statutes.”
The states say a litany of programs are still waiting for federal funds or some clarity on whether the money is going to be delivered. McConnell also said the states had demonstrated standing in this case.
“The States have introduced dozens of uncontested declarations illustrating the effects of the indiscriminate and unpredictable freezing of federal funds, which implicate nearly all aspects of the States’ governmental operations and inhibit their ability to administer vital services to their residents,” he wrote. “These declarations reflect at least one particularized, concrete, and imminent harm that flows from the federal funding pause — a significant, indefinite loss of obligated federal funding.”
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said President Donald Trump, a Republican, has “attempted to subvert the rule of law in favor of illegal executive power” through his executive orders.
“We don’t have kings in this country, and today’s preliminary injunction reaffirms that,” Neronha, a Democrat, said in a statement.
“Americans pay taxes to the federal government knowing that the Congress will allocate their dollars towards agencies and programs that will support them in their daily lives,” he continued. “The President’s federal funding freeze would be laughable if it wasn’t so utterly destructive. It flies in the face of everything we know to be true about our government, namely our separation of powers, by attempting to render the Congress as irrelevant.”
The White House previously said the temporary funding halt would ensure that the payments complied with Trump’s agenda, which includes increasing fossil fuel production, removing protections for transgender people and ending diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
The Republican administration has since rescinded a memo outlining the funding freeze. Still, many state governments, universities and nonprofits have argued federal agencies continue to block funding for a range of programs.
Hawaiʻi Attorney General Anne Lopez warned that if the federal government does not comply with the court injunction, the state will have to take further action.
"I believe that the order issued today was clear and, he provided a civics lesson on how our government works. If the federal government doesn't adhere to this order, then we will have to go back to the district court and go back to the judiciary," she said. " I believe, and can only believe that they will rule in a way that maintains our form of government with three branches."
U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan in Washington has also extended an order blocking the funding freeze. AliKhan granted a preliminary injunction requested by groups representing thousands of nonprofits and small businesses.
Hawaiʻi is also involved in several other lawsuits against the federal government, including one against the Department of Government Efficiency for receiving access to people's personal identifying information stored with the U.S. Department of the Treasury and another challenging Trump's executive order to end birth-right citizenship.
