Washington, January 29 (RHC)-- A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has temporarily halted President Donald Trump’s radical plan to freeze trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans, even though the money has already been appropriated by Congress. 

U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan said Tuesday she would decide by next week whether to make the injunction permanent.  The ruling came after several nonprofits and attorneys general from 22 states filed lawsuits arguing the order would have a devastating impact on hundreds of thousands of recipients who rely on federal grants and loans for their operations. 

At the White House, newly minted Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump’s unprecedented actions.  Leavitt said: “It means no more funding for illegal DEI programs.  It means no more funding for the green new scam that has cost American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars.  It means no more funding for transgenderism and wokeness across our federal bureaucracy and agencies.”

As Trump’s federal spending freeze briefly took effect Tuesday, Medicaid reimbursement portals went down in all 50 states, cutting off compensation to hospitals and clinics that provide healthcare to children, low-income families and people with disabilities. 

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Trump’s actions would likely impact universities, nonprofits, food assistance programs, hospitals and rural health centers, organizations that assist disabled veterans and much more.

Sen. Chuck Schumer: “This decision is lawless.  It’s destructive.  It’s dangerous. It’s cruel.  It’s illegal, and it’s unconstitutional.  Donald Trump has done a lot of bad things in the last week, but nothing’s worse than this.”

Washington Democratic Senator Patty Murray called Trump’s executive order a “brazen and illegal move.”  Maine independent Senator Angus King said: “If this stands, then Congress may as well adjourn.”  Vermont independent Senator Bernie Sanders declared of Trump: “He is not a king."

[ SOURCE:  DEMOCRACY NOW ]