A federal court has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to freeze essential federal funding to states, marking the second legal setback for the administration in as many days. The ruling comes after Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul led a multistate lawsuit challenging the funding freeze, arguing it would have devastating consequences for state programs and research institutions.
“States and research institutions rely on federal funding to provide services our residents depend on,” Raoul said. “These two preliminary injunctions will prevent the Trump administration’s ludicrous and unlawful policies from being enacted.”
Raoul emphasized how the freeze could have crippled programs in Illinois, including efforts to protect children from online predators and medical research initiatives at state universities. His office runs the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, which depends on federal grants to investigate child exploitation crimes and train law enforcement.
The court’s preliminary injunction came after Raoul and a coalition of attorneys general sued to stop the administration from blocking a wide range of federal agency grants, loans, and financial assistance programs. The judge found that the states were likely to succeed in their claim that the funding freeze was unlawful, citing the critical role federal money plays in programs ranging from childcare to emergency response and workforce development.
Raoul and other attorneys general first took legal action on January 28, securing an initial temporary restraining order (TRO) on January 31. They later sought a preliminary injunction to ensure federal funds remained available. In a ruling issued today, the court not only granted the injunction but also ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to prove by March 14 that it was complying with the order to unfreeze funds. Without access to FEMA grants, states could struggle to respond to disasters, including terrorist attacks, wildfires, mass shootings, and cybersecurity threats.
Yesterday, a separate court ruling blocked another Trump administration policy that sought to cut billions of dollars in funding to universities and research institutions. The Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) had planned to reduce funding for medical and public health research, prompting a lawsuit from Raoul’s coalition. The court ruled in favor of the states, preventing the cuts while the case continues.
The NIH is the primary source of federal funding for medical research in the U.S., supporting advances in cancer treatment, Alzheimer’s research, and early detection of diseases. Illinois institutions have benefited significantly from these funds, with recent grants helping the University of Illinois develop new treatments for drug-resistant bacteria and childhood cancer, among other breakthroughs.
Joining Raoul in the lawsuits are attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
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