NEW YORK/WASHINGTON: A Pakistani-American federal district judge, Loren AliKhan, has temporarily halted the implementation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order.
The 41-year-old judge responded to a petition from the National Council of Nonprofits and public health organizations, leading to a temporary administrative stay.
This ruling gained considerable attention, making headlines as breaking news across national media, with analysts discussing its broader implications.
The executive order, which was set to freeze several hundred billion dollars in funds, was scheduled to take effect on January 28.
These funds were intended for distribution in the form of federal grants, loans, and other means to non-profit organizations, charitable work, climate improvement projects, transgender rights, and activities that do not align with President Trump’s agenda.
As a result, the National Council of Nonprofits and public health organizations filed a petition against the enforcement of Trump’s executive order just hours before it was to be implemented, arguing that its enforcement and the freezing of billions of dollars in funds would cause irreparable harm to their operations and objectives.
Meanwhile, lawyers from the U.S. Department of Justice argued that these nonprofits and other organizations should provide clarification and evidence of the “irreparable harm.”
After navigating the complex nomination process as a district judge during President Joe Biden’s administration, including the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings and approval, AliKhan intervened just hours before the executive order was to be enforced.
Following discussions with lawyers from both sides, she issued a temporary stay order to prevent the freezing of funds. A hearing for this case is scheduled for February 3.
Before her position as a federal district judge, AliKhan worked in various judicial and legal service roles. She is also an alumna of the prestigious Georgetown University in the U.S. and served as the editor of the university’s law journal.
The executive order that AliKhan has halted is clearly at odds with the Trump administration’s agenda, as it includes hundreds of billions of dollars in federal grants for family planning, transgender rights, environmental issues, funding for NGOs to install solar systems on residential homes, public health interests, health research, abortion, and more.
In an effort to act swiftly, President Trump issued numerous executive orders, which instead of yielding effective results, led to confusion and sluggishness within his administration.
Just one day after implementing the order to freeze U.S. aid to foreign countries, the U.S. Secretary of State had to announce exemptions and privileges regarding certain matters and items.
Potentially trillions of dollars in federal grants, loans, and other aid faced possible suspension due to the White House halt in aid, but a federal judge suspended the order shortly before it was to take effect Tuesday afternoon.
AliKhan suspended the order until at least Monday, after several nonprofit groups filed suit claiming it was illegal.
Attorneys general from over 20 Democratic-led states later filed a separate suit seeking to block the order.
Even before the order was set to begin, online portals for accessing the Medicaid health insurance program for low-income families and disabled individuals became inaccessible.
“This is a blatant attempt to rip away health insurance from millions of Americans overnight and will get people killed,” Oregon Senator Ron Wyden posted on X.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the website would be fixed soon and that “no payments have been affected.”
She defended the drastic move as part of Trump’s effort to make the government “good stewards of taxpayer dollars.”
The freeze is not a “blanket” stop on spending, but rather a tool to ensure that “every penny going out the door is not conflicting with the executive orders and actions that this president has taken,” said Leavitt.
She listed racial equality and climate change programs Trump vowed to dismantle as examples, and did not answer a question about whether Medicaid recipients would be cut off.
Top Trump aide Stephen Miller later told CNN that Medicaid was not targeted and, in a post on X, called the confusion a “media hoax.”
The order, signed by acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Matthew Vaeth, did not clarify how the pause on disbursements of funds would work or how long it would last.
Federal spending included more than $3 trillion in financial assistance like grants and loans in fiscal year 2024 — all of which was approved by Congress.
Democrats accused Trump of usurping Congress’ constitutionally mandated control over budget spending and attempting to force the government to bend to his personal will.
In the past week, his administration fired independent government watchdogs and several career prosecutors involved in investigations of his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
