A US judge on Tuesday extended an order blocking President Donald Trump’s administration from instituting a sweeping freeze on trillions of dollars in federal funding by pausing grants, loans and other financial support. US District Judge Loren AliKhan in Washington wrote that while some funds had become unfrozen since she first temporarily blocked the administration’s spending pause, there remained a risk the administration might again try to shut off funding.
The judge, an appointee of Democratic former President Joe Biden, said for those reasons she agreed with groups representing nonprofits and small business that a preliminary injunction was necessary to block a further funding freeze.
“The injunctive relief that defendants fought so hard to deny is the only thing in this case holding potentially catastrophic harm at bay,” the judge wrote.
Those groups sued after the White House’s Office of Management and Budget on January 27 issued a memo directing federal agencies to temporarily pause spending on federal financial assistance programs. Trump began his second term as president on January 20.
The memo said the freeze was necessary while the administration reviewed grants and loans to ensure they are aligned with Trump’s executive orders, including ones ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs and directing a pause on spending on projects seeking to combat climate change.
The OMB later withdrew that memo after it became the subject of two lawsuits, one before AliKhan by groups including the National Council of Nonprofits and another before a judge in Rhode Island by Democratic state attorneys general.
But the plaintiffs argued that the memo’s withdrawal did not mean the end of the policy itself.
They pointed to a post on social media platform X by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shortly after the memo was withdrawn saying: “This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo.”
AliKhan on Tuesday cited that social media post as a reason for why the case was not moot, as the judge barred the administration from implementing or reinstating under a different name the funding pause announced in the OMB memo.
The judge said the freeze was “ill-conceived from the beginning,” saying the administration either wanted to abruptly pause up to $3 trillion in federal spending overnight or have each federal agency review every single grant and loan for compliance in less than 24 hours.
AliKhan said the administration lacked any “clear statutory hook for this broad assertion of power,” and that its actions were “irrational, imprudent, and precipitated a nationwide crisis.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Skye Perryman, whose liberal-leaning group Democracy Forward represented the plaintiffs, hailed the ruling halting “the Trump administration’s lawless attempt to harm everyday Americans in service of a political goal.”
Trump blocked from imposing sweeping federal funding freeze
https://arab.news/zrpzy
Trump blocked from imposing sweeping federal funding freeze
- The memo said the freeze was necessary while the administration reviewed grants and loans to ensure they are aligned with Trump’s executive orders, including ones ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs
UPDATE 1-Putin says he hopes there will be no need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine
- Fear of nuclear escalation has been a factor in US officials’ thinking since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022
In a fragment of an upcoming interview with Russian state television published on Telegram, Putin said that Russia has the strength and the means to bring the conflict in Ukraine to a “logical conclusion.”
Responding to a question about Ukrainian strikes on Russia from a state television reporter, Putin said: “There has been no need to use those (nuclear) weapons ... and I hope they will not be required.”
He said: “We have enough strength and means to bring what was started in 2022 to a logical conclusion with the outcome Russia requires.”
Putin in February 2022 ordered tens of thousands of Russian troops into Ukraine, in what the Kremlin calls a “special military operation” against its neighbor.
Though Russian troops were repelled from Kyiv, Moscow’s forces currently control around 20 percent of Ukraine, including much of the south and east.
Putin has in recent weeks expressed willingness to negotiate a peace settlement, as US President Donald Trump has said he wants to end the conflict via diplomatic means.
Fear of nuclear escalation has been a factor in US officials’ thinking since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022. Former CIA Director William Burns has said there was a real risk in late 2022 that Russia could use nuclear weapons against Ukraine.
Chinese president to visit Russia on May 7-10
MOSCOW : Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Russia on May 7-10 and join Vladimir Putin at the 80th commemoration of the Allied victory against Nazi Germany, the Kremlin said on Sunday.
The Russian president’s office said Xi would also hold bilateral talks with Putin and the two were expected to sign “a series of bilateral documents.”
Vehicle crashes into entrance at Manila airport, killing 2 people including a 4-year-old girl
- Dozens of emergency personnel could be seen at Ninoy Aquino International Airport surrounding a black SUV that had rammed into a wall by an entrance
MANILA, Philippines: A vehicle crashed into an entrance at Manila’s airport on Sunday morning, leaving two people dead including a 4-year-old girl, according to the Philippine Red Cross.
The other victim was an adult male, the humanitarian group said in a statement.
Other people were injured in the incident and the driver of the vehicle was in police custody, according to the airport’s operator, New NAIA Infra Co, and the Red Cross.
Dozens of emergency personnel could be seen at Ninoy Aquino International Airport surrounding a black SUV that had rammed into a wall by an entrance. The vehicle was later removed from the site.
The airport operator said it is coordinating with the authorities to investigate the incident.
Australia’s reelected government says US-China tussle a top priority
- Government sees US-China trade war, global economy as priorities
- Albanese emphasizes disciplined government, unity after decisive reelection victory
SYDNEY, Australia: Australia’s Labor government will prioritize dealing with the “dark shadow” of the US-China trade war following its resounding re-election victory, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Sunday, after a campaign that highlighted concerns over US trade policy and the global economy.
Labour Party leader Anthony Albanese, Australia’s first prime minister to win a second consecutive term in two decades, promised in remarks on Sunday that he would run a disciplined and orderly government, stressing that Australians had voted for unity.
The center-left Labour Party appeared likely to expand its majority in parliament to at least 86 seats from 77, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. projected, after most polls had suggested it would struggle to keep its slim hold on the 150-seat lower house. About three-quarters of votes have been tallied, with counting to resume on Monday.
Echoing an election in Canada less than a week earlier, Australia’s conservative opposition leader, Peter Dutton, lost his seat as voters, who initially focused on cost-of-living pressures, grew increasingly concerned over US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs and other policies.
“We will be a disciplined, orderly government in our second term, just like we have been in our first,” Albanese told reporters while visiting a coffee shop in his Sydney electorate where he said his late mother took him as a child.
“The Australian people voted for unity rather than division,” Albanese added in brief public comments.
Polls had shown Labor trailing the opposition conservative coalition for nine months until March, amid widespread angst about the government’s handling of inflation.
But the polls flipped when the conservatives unveiled a proposal to slash the federal workforce, which was compared to the Trump administration’s moves to cut back government agencies. A proposal to force federal workers back to the office five days a week was also criticized as unfair to women.
Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement added to voters’ unease as it sent shockwaves through global markets and raised concerns about the impact on their pension funds.
“The immediate focus is on global economic uncertainty, US and China, and what it means for us,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“What’s happening, particularly between the US and China, does cast a dark shadow over the global economy ... We need to have the ability, and we will have the ability, to manage that uncertainty.”
Representatives of the US and China joined leaders from around the world congratulating Albanese and his party.
The US “looks forward to deepening its relationship with Australia to advance our common interests and promote freedom and stability in the Indo-Pacific and globally,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said the country “stands ready to work with the new Australian government (to) continue advancing a more mature, stable, and productive comprehensive strategic partnership.”
Senior figures in Australia’s conservative coalition meanwhile began apportioning blame for the loss as it begins the search for a new leader.
Mark Speakman, leader of the coalition’s main Liberal party for the state of New South Wales, said the party needed to connect its values of “aspiration, innovation and opportunity” to “modern day NSW, including for women and people from non-English speaking backgrounds.”
Simon Birmingham, a former finance minister who quit before the election, said in a LinkedIn post that “there must be a reshaping of the party to connect it with the modern Australian community.”
“Based on who’s not voting Liberal, it must start with women,” Birmingham wrote. “Based on where they’re not voting Liberal, it must focus on metropolitan Australia.”
Indian PM says Albanese re-election to strengthen ties
- India is expected to host a summit meeting of the Quad later this year
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese on Saturday on his general election victory, saying it would strengthen ties between the nations.
India has deepened defense cooperation with Australia in recent years as part of the Quad alliance with the United States and Japan, a grouping seen as a bulwark against China.
Modi said he looked forward to working together to “further deepen” ties with Australia and “advance our shared vision for peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.”
India is expected to host a summit meeting of the Quad later this year.
“Congratulations on your resounding victory and re-election... This emphatic mandate indicates the enduring faith of the Australian people in your leadership,” Modi said on X.
Albanese wooed Modi during a visit to Australia in 2023, referring to him as the “boss” during a massive rally of Indian-Australians.
Modi had earlier hosted Albanese in India, when they performed a lap of honor aboard a cricket-themed golf cart before a Test match, and bonded over their countries’ shared love of the sport.
