Attorney General Nessel and Multistate Coalition Secure Court Order Blocking Trump Administration from Withholding Critical Federal Funding

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and a coalition of 22 other attorneys general today won a preliminary injunction against the Trump Administration (PDF) to block its illegal policy that would withhold 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 Nessel and the coalition sued the Trump Administration to stop the withholding of federal funding.   

“I am grateful that my colleagues and I were able to secure this victory to preserve essential programs for Michiganders while stopping President Trump’s illegal attempt to strip funding for vital government services,” Nessel said. “I will continue working closely with program partners across Michigan to ensure the Trump Administration complies with this injunction and make sure these critical resources reach the people who need them most.” 

Today, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted Attorney General Nessel 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 policy were unlawful. The Court noted the States’ “inability to feasibly take a program-by-program, grant-by-grant approach to raising their challenges is the consequence of the Defendants’ broad, sweeping efforts to indefinitely stop nearly all faucets of federal funding from flowing to carry out the President’s policy priorities, without regard to Congressional authorizations. One cannot set one’s house on fire and then complain that the firefighters smashed all the windows and put a hole in the roof trying to put it out.” 

In today’s order, the Court also required the administration to provide evidence of their compliance with regard to withholding FEMA funds by March 14 and to alert all agencies about the Court’s order. 

The administration’s 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 Nessel and the coalition sued the administration over their attempt to withhold funding on January 28, and on January 31, the court granted the attorneys general’s request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking the policy’s implementation until further order from the court. On February 7, Attorney General Nessel and the coalition filed motions for enforcement and a preliminary injunction to stop the illegal policy 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 Nessel and the coalition filed a second motion for enforcement seeking to stop the Trump Administration from withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to the states from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  

Joining Attorney General Nessel on this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.