March 6th, 2025 by WCBC Radio

Attorney General Anthony G. Brown joined a coalition of 22 other attorneys general that today won a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration to block its illegal policy to freeze funding for essential federal agency grants, loans, and other financial assistance programs. Chief Judge John J. McConnell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island today granted the preliminary injunction after Attorney General Brown and the coalition sued the Trump administration to stop the funding freeze.  

“Federal funding plays a critical role in Maryland’s efforts to keep our communities safe, educate our children, and protect our infrastructure. The president’s illegal attempt to freeze federal money already approved by Congress would have had devastating impacts on our State’s ability to meet its people’s basic needs,” said Attorney General Brown. “This victory is temporary, but the preliminary injunction ensures that our State can keep serving Marylanders while our Office continues this fight in court.” 

The administration’s funding freeze 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 Brown and the coalition sued the administration over the freeze on January 28, and on January 31, the court granted the attorneys general’s request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking the freeze’s implementation until further order from the court. On February 7, Attorney General Brown and the coalition moved for enforcement of the TRO and a preliminary injunction to stop the illegal freeze and preserve federal funding that families, communities, and states rely on. On February 10, 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 Brown and the coalition filed a second motion for enforcement seeking to stop the Trump administration from freezing hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to the states from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 

Today, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted Attorney General Brown and the coalition’s request for a preliminary injunction, halting the implementation of the administration’s policy. The Court concluded that the states were likely to succeed on their claims that the actions making up the funding freeze policy were unlawful. In today’s order, the Court also required the administration to provide evidence of their compliance with regard to unfreezing FEMA funds by March 14 and to alert all agencies about the Court’s order.