A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump's administration cannot block federal money for child care subsidies and other programs aimed at supporting low-income families with children from flowing to five Democratic-led states for now. The states of California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York argued that a policy announced Tuesday to freeze billions of dollars in funds for three grant programs is having an immediate impact on them and creating "operational chaos."
The Department of Education notified the state and 16 others in March that the Trump administration had rescinded access to millions in federal money earmarked to combat the pandemic's impact on students across the nation. The recovery funds had been previously approved and awarded to the states from the department and were supposed to be available until March 2026, but the Department of Education abruptly changed course, a lawsuit from the 17 impacted states alleged.
The state filed a lawsuit Monday against the Trump administration in which it argues that the Illinois National Guard can only be federalized if there is a foreign invasion, rebellion or if the federal government is unable to enforce federal laws.