HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) – Connecticut’s attorney general was among 22 others who won a preliminary injunction against the Trump Administration.
Attorney General William Tong joined the other attorneys general to block what they called an illegal policy that would freeze federal funding for essential agencies.
The freeze would have impacted grants, loans, and other financial assistance programs.
Judge John McConnell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted the injunction after Tong and the coalition sued the Trump administration to stop the freeze.
“This is a major early victory, signaling the strength of our case and the brazen lawlessness of Trump’s overreaching executive order,” Tong said. “Let’s not forget what Donald Trump did on Jan. 27. This was a blanket freeze on trillions of dollars of federal funding, hitting every corner of our government. This was no idle threat. On the day we sued, Head Start funding was down. Medicaid funding was frozen. We sued immediately, and the court orders we have secured are what is now standing in the way of Donald Trump defunding our police, our highways, energy assistance, and our schools. This fight is far from over, but we are prepared to stay in court for as long as it takes to protect Connecticut families and Connecticut jobs.”
Tong said the administration’s funding freeze policy, issued through an array of actions, 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 federal funds.
Tong and other other attorneys general filed their suit on Jan. 28.
Thursday, the court concluded that the states had demonstrated a high likelihood of success on their claims that the actions making up the funding freeze policy were unlawful.
In The 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.
The lawsuit was led by the attorneys general of California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. Joining the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
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