A revised proposal from the 23 Democratic attorneys general suing the Trump administration seeks to prevent federal agencies from freezing funds for at least two weeks, regardless of any prior or future White House budget memos.
The four-page document filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island on Thursday came at the request of Chief Judge John McConnell Jr., who delayed making an official ruling in a virtual hearing Wednesday amid confusion over the eleventh-hour rescission of the federal budget memo. McConnell indicated he would grant the temporary restraining order preventing federal agencies from freezing funds, but asked the AGs to submit an updated proposal reflecting that the U.S. Office of Management and Budget documents had been retracted.
The original Jan. 28 lawsuit makes repeated references to the White House memo issued Monday night, citing the “irreparable harm” that a funding freeze would cause to state governments and agencies who depend on the $1 trillion in federal aid to fund critical operations and services. The new submission relies on the same assumptions but focuses on the federal administration’s intent to pause funds.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt in a post on X on Wednesday clarified that while the document has been rescinded, the freeze itself had not been revoked.
Leavitt’s post was entered as evidence in court on Wednesday and is also referenced in AGs revised proposal for a restraining order.
“Defendants shall also be restrained and prohibited from reissuing, adopting, implementing, or otherwise giving effect to the OMB Directive under any other name or title or through any other Defendants (or agency supervised, administered, or controlled by any Defendant), such as the continued implementation identified by the White House Press Secretary statement of January 29, 2025,” the submission states.
The AGs have asked McConnell to block all federal agencies from freezing funds for at least 14 days, requiring the federal cabinet heads named as defendants to notify their employees, contractors and grant recipients in writing within two hours of a judge’s order. The request also allows for a 14-day extension on the ban “for good cause shown.”
Daniel Schwei, the U.S. Department of Justice attorney representing the federal administration has 24 hours to submit a response before McConnell will issue a ruling.
A federal judge in D.C. on Tuesday issued a temporary administrative stay in response to a separate lawsuit filed by a group of nonprofit, business and healthcare groups, preventing the Trump administration from freezing federal grants and aid until at least Feb. 3.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
