Appeals court denies Trump admin request to block judge's order to lift spending freeze

A federal appeals court on Tuesday declined to temporarily block a lower court's orders directing the Trump administration to unfreeze federal grants.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit noted that Trump's Justice Department already requested a pause from U.S. District Judge John McConnell, the lower court judge who issued the orders, while the appeal is ongoing and the judge has not yet ruled.

But even assuming the appeals court has jurisdiction to issue a stay, it declined to do so.

"The defendants do not cite any authority in support of their administrative stay request or identify any harm related to a specific funding action or actions that they will face without their requested administrative stay," the panel wrote.

"In these circumstances, we assume we have jurisdiction, and deny the motion for an administrative stay without prejudice," it wrote.

The Justice Department (DOJ) appealed key orders by McConnell on Monday, the first blocking the White House budget office’s order to pause the disbursement of grants and the second directing the government to follow the first order and “immediately” end the funding pause.

The appeal marked the second DOJ appeal of a lawsuit challenging major Trump administration actions.

In a memo last month, the Office of Management and Budget told federal agencies to halt the disbursement of grants while the administration assessed its spending to ensure alignment with President Trump’s agenda, a move that drew quick legal challenges and widespread confusion.

The memo was later withdrawn, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted on social media that the rescission did not affect the entire freeze, just the memo itself. McConnell asserted the reversal was "in name only" and that the "substantive effect of the directive carries on," citing her post.

On Monday, the judge issued a second ruling that found the Trump administration had not complied with his initial directive. He ordered the administration to “immediately” cease any pauses in federal funding until after he determines whether to indefinitely block the freeze while litigation is ongoing.

The funding freeze was challenged by a coalition of Democratic attorneys general in 22 states and Washington, D.C., led by New York Attorney General Letitia James (D).

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