A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from imposing new conditions on U.S. Department of Agriculture funding that New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of states argued could jeopardize billions of dollars in federal support.
James announced Friday that the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted a preliminary injunction preventing the administration from enforcing the requirements while the lawsuit proceeds. According to the attorney general’s office, the conditions threatened more than $9.7 billion in USDA funding for New York.
The lawsuit, filed in March by James and 20 other state attorneys general, challenged new USDA requirements that would have required states to certify compliance with broad federal policies related to issues including immigration, gender identity and athletics in order to receive funding.
State officials argued that failure to provide the certifications could have resulted in the loss of funding that supports food assistance programs, agricultural initiatives and other services. James said the conditions were unlawful and accused the federal government of attempting to use funding as leverage to influence state policies.
The preliminary injunction prevents the administration from enforcing the disputed requirements while the case moves forward in federal court. James said her office will continue challenging what she described as efforts to withhold federal funding from states that do not align with the administration’s policy priorities.
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