US Appeals Court Rules Block on Trump’s Federal Aid Pause to Remain in Place

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled on March 26 that a court order blocking the Trump administration’s plans to freeze trillions of dollars in government financial assistance will remain in place for now. In its 48-page decision, the panel of three appeals court judges found the funding freeze would cause states an array of harms, including leaving them unable to make existing financial obligations and forcing them to take on additional debt. “Even if we were to set aside the harms to the Plaintiff-States’ residents, the District Court still found a number of harms that the Plaintiff-States themselves would irreparably suffer. These harms included the obligation of new debt; the inability to pay existing debt; impediments to planning, hiring, and operations; and disruptions to research projects by state universities,” Chief Judge David Barron wrote in the ruling....