By Dietrich Knauth
(Reuters) -A federal judge in Rhode Island on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from cutting $233 million in counterterrorism grants funds for Democratic-led states, including New York and Illinois.
Eleven states sued the Trump administration on Monday over last-minutes changes to counterterrorism grants, saying that Republican President Donald Trump was retaliating against Democratic-led states by redirecting funding away from them just as the fiscal year ends. The states said they needed a next-day restraining order, or else the funds would expire before they had a chance to challenge Trump’s action in court.
U.S. District Judge Mary S. McElroy agreed, saying that the funds had been cut in a “slapdash” manner. She issued a temporary restraining order that prevents the Trump administration from diverting the counterterrorism funds until the court case has a chance to play out.
(Reporting by Dietrich Knauth; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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