WASHINGTON, Jan 29 – A U.S. federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to freeze hundreds of billions of dollars in federal aid, as reported by Steve Holland, Luc Cohen, and Andy Sullivan for Reuters. The order, which was due to take effect at 5 p.m. ET, created confusion across government agencies and sparked fears of disruptions to essential programmes.
U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan granted the temporary halt after advocacy groups argued the freeze would devastate programmes ranging from healthcare to infrastructure. The court will revisit the issue on Monday.
Trump’s directive is part of a broader effort to reshape the federal government, following previous moves to halt foreign aid, freeze hiring, and shut down diversity initiatives. His administration also offered buyouts to federal workers in a bid to downsize government.
Democrats condemned the freeze as an unlawful attack on Congress’ control over federal spending, while Republicans defended it as a necessary step to curb the $6.75 trillion budget. Meanwhile, concerns grew over Medicaid payments, with Democratic Senator Ron Wyden warning of potential delays.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt assured that Medicaid payments were unaffected despite a portal outage, though healthcare industry officials warned of long-term consequences.
