A federal judge on Friday blocked President Trump’s $10 billion welfare funding freeze in five blue states.
US District Judge Arun Subramanian, a Biden appointee, issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and blocked Trump’s halt on funding for childcare and social services.
On Tuesday, President Trump sent letters to California, Colorado, New York, Minnesota and Illinois to inform them of the federal cuts.
Trump made the cuts to the welfare programs due to widespread fraud in the state’s programs.
The five states were given a January 20 deadline.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the other Democrat attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration and asked the judge for an emergency order.
Judge Subramanian halted Trump’s welfare freeze for two weeks as both sides submit arguments to the court.
Politico reported:
A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from freezing $10 billion in welfare funds earmarked for five blue states.
In response to a request from the states for an emergency injunction, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian ordered that the money from three programs — Child Care Development Fund, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, and Social Services Block Grants — must continue to flow to the states.
His decision, which expires in two weeks, was meant to give the two sides time to submit more extensive legal arguments on whether the cuts should be allowed or the ban kept in place, the judge wrote.
Earlier in the week, California, Colorado, Illinois, New York and Minnesota received letters from the federal Department of Health and Human Services notifying them of the cuts. California is in line to receive about half of the $10 billion in targeted funding.
The attempt to withhold the funds was in response to what the Trump Administration has alleged without evidence is widespread fraud and waste in the states’ welfare programs. Along with the cuts, administration officials are also requesting reams of information about how states administer the programs in an effort to bolster the claims of malfeasance and ineptitude.
