Judge Shuts Down Donald Trump’s Bid to Pull Billions From States Because of This Shocking Reason
Donald Trump’s administration has suffered a major defeat in court after a federal judge ruled that it cannot cancel federal grants that had already been approved just because the government’s priorities have changed.
The ruling is a big win for a group of states that argued billions of dollars in federal funding were at risk if the administration was allowed to end the grants.
The decision could affect many government-funded programs across the United States, including university research, school meal programs, crime prevention projects, and other services that rely on federal funding. It also rejected one of the Trump administration’s main legal arguments for ending grants that had already been awarded.
According to RadarOnline, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled against the Trump administration after 20 states, three governors, and the District of Columbia challenged the government’s interpretation of federal grant rules. The judge refused the administration’s request to throw out the case and instead ruled in favour of the states on one of the key legal issues.
The case focused on a part of federal grant rules known as the “Termination Clause.” The Trump administration argued that this rule allowed government agencies to cancel grants if they no longer matched the new administration’s policy goals. However, Judge Talwani rejected that argument. She ruled that grants must be judged using the goals and priorities that were in place when the funding was originally approved, not new priorities introduced by a later administration.
The lawsuit was filed by New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, California, and several other states, together with the governors of Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Kentucky. They argued that allowing the administration to cancel grants based on changing political priorities could put billions of dollars in congressionally approved funding at risk.
The court found that the states had the legal right to bring the case because they currently receive at least 1,180 active federal grants worth more than $5.39 billion. The judge also noted that since January 2025, federal agencies had already ended billions of dollars in grants that supported university research, school nutrition programs, efforts to reduce violent crime, and many other public projects across the country.
The Trump administration argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed, saying the states had no legal standing and that their concerns about future grant cancellations were only based on speculation. Judge Talwani disagreed, saying the risk was real because agencies had already canceled many grants and were continuing broader reviews aimed at cutting federal spending.
The judge also ruled that government agencies cannot change the rules after grants have already been awarded. She explained that organisations receiving federal funding must know the conditions of the grant before accepting the money. Although the ruling does not restore grants that have already been canceled, it makes clear that federal agencies cannot cancel existing grants simply because a new administration has different policy priorities.
