Today (February 10th), Judge John McConnell of the Federal District Court of Rhode Island issued a new ruling that the Trump Administration is out of compliance with the temporary restraining order (TRO) that he placed on January 31st prohibiting it from “freezing” federal funds.
On February 7th, the plaintiffs in this case (including the State of New York) filed a new motion stating that the Trump Administration had still maintained freezes on various funds covered by the TRO, citing the example of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) canceling an advisory committee meeting with Brown University on a $71 million grant on dementia care research.
In response, Judge McConnell’s new order states: “The plain language of the TRO entered in this case prohibits all categorical pauses or freezes in obligations or disbursements based on the OMB Directive or based on the President’s 2025 Executive Orders. […] The Defendants must resume the funding of institutes and other agencies of the Defendants (for example the National Institute for Health) that are included in the scope of the Court’s TRO.”
The order does not appear to apply to the NIH’s new policy released on February 7th, which set a 15 percent indirect cost rate “to all current grants for go forward expenses from February 10, 2025 forward as well as for new grants issued.” However, this policy has also been challenged by a group of State Attorney Generals, with a lawsuit filed today in the Federal District Court of Massachusetts.
The Trump Administration has already filed an appeal of Judge McConnell’s new order to the First Circuit Court of Appeals. It now remains to be seen whether the Trump Administration will comply with these court orders in the interim. It’s still likely that this issue will eventually reach the Supreme Court.
Please feel free to contact SPG with any comments or questions.