Judge blocks Trump's federal-aid freeze after chaos over Medicaid, other funding

The White House has sought to pause potentially trillions of dollars in federal grants, loans and other financial-assistance programs

- Ken Thomas, Kristina Peterson, Liz Essley Whyte & Patience Haggin

A judge temporarily blocked implementation of a sweeping White House effort to pause potentially trillions of dollars in federal grants, loans and other financial-assistance programs, a directive that created chaos as states struggled to access funding portals dealing with Medicaid, emergency aid and low-income education and nutrition services.

Minutes before the White House order was set to take effect, U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan in Washington, D.C., temporarily blocked federal agencies from taking steps to implement it. Ruling from the bench at the end of a hastily arranged court hearing Tuesday, AliKhan said she was issuing a brief stay that would "preserve the status quo" until she can hold an oral argument, which is set for Monday morning.

The order came in response to a lawsuit filed earlier in the day by organizations who represent grant recipients.

Earlier Tuesday, federal, state and local government officials sought to assess the impact of the order issued a night earlier by the White House Office of Management and Budget, which set off a temporary pause of the grants to give agencies time to review spending priorities.

The White House said the order wouldn't affect individual assistance programs such as Social Security and Medicare benefits, food stamps and welfare benefits.

"This is not a blanket pause on federal assistance and grant programs from the Trump administration," said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. "It is the responsibility of this president and this administration to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars."