DOJ appeals judge's order to unfreeze federal grants

The Justice Department on Monday appealed a federal judge's order to unfreeze federal grants, hours after the judge ruled that the Trump administration had not complied with his directive.

In a short notice, DOJ lawyer Daniel Schwei indicated that the government would appeal U.S. District Judge John McConnell's key orders — 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.

It marks the second DOJ appeal of a lawsuit challenging major Trump administration actions. Schwei said the Justice Department would seek to pause McConnell's orders pending its appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which would keep the funding freeze in effect.

In a memo last month, the Office of Management and Budget told federal agencies to pause the disbursement of grants as the administration assessed its spending to ensure it aligned with President Trump’s agenda. The sweeping directive drew quick legal challenges and widespread confusion. 

Though the memo was later withdrawn, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt cautioned on social media that the administration’s rescission only referred to the memo itself, not the entire freeze. McConnell said the reversal was “in name only," citing her post.

"The substantive effect of the directive carries on,” the judge wrote in his initial order.

In his new order Monday, McConnell told the Trump administration to "immediately" cease any pauses in federal funding until after he determines whether to indefinitely block the freeze while litigation is ongoing.

He pointed specifically to funds appropriated under two laws championed by former President Biden — the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — and funds intended for institutes and other agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as examples of withheld funds that must be restored.

“The broad categorical and sweeping freeze of federal funds is, as the Court found, likely unconstitutional and has caused and continues to cause irreparable harm to a vast portion of this country,” McConnell wrote.

Democratic attorneys general in 22 states and Washington, D.C., challenged the freeze and later said the Trump administration was not complying with the judge’s initial command. The coalition is led by New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), who has taken Trump himself to court for business fraud and won a multimillion-dollar judgment against him.

The government opposed the states’ motion to force its abidance, writing in court filings that it had made “good-faith, diligent efforts” to comply.