A federal judge in Manhattan has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from freezing billions of dollars in child care and anti-poverty funding to New York and four other states, ordering federal officials to lift restrictions on the money while the case moves forward.
U.S. District Court Judge Arun Subramanian, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, granted the state’s request for a temporary restraining order following a hearing Friday. The judge ruled the states had shown good cause to halt the funding freeze pending further litigation.
New York and four other Democratic-led states had sued the Trump administration earlier this week after the Department of Human Services announced it would hold $10 billion in federal funding from three major programs: the Child Care and Development Fund, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Social Services Block Grant.
Those programs represent about $3.1 billion in federal money for hundreds of thousands of New York families annually, according to state officials.
The order, which remains in effect for up to 14 days unless extended, directs federal officials to remove any restrictions that prevent the states from drawing down funds under those programs.
The administration had said the freeze was necessary to give the department time to investigate potential fraud. The states, however, argued the cuts could quickly disrupt services — and that the administration offered no evidence to justify the action and had unlawfully singled them out.
The federal Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately return a request for comment.
