Press Release  AG Campbell Celebrates First Circuit Decision Upholding Block On Trump Administration Funding Freeze

Boston — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell released the following statement after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit largely upheld a lower court order blocking the Trump Administration’s illegal effort to categorically freeze trillions of dollars in essential federal funding to states: 

“This victory ensures that critical state programs providing services like health care, childcare, support for public schools, infrastructure improvements, and so much more can continue to function and serve our residents,” said AG Campbell. “This win also affirms what has long been enshrined in our laws and Constitution: that the President cannot override Congress’s power to decide how federal funds are spent. I will continue to hold this Administration accountable when it recklessly abuses its power, especially when those actions harm our residents and state economy.”

In January 2025, AG Campbell co-led a coalition of 23 attorneys general in suing to stop the implementation of a new federal policy that would have categorically withheld trillions of dollars in essential funding, impacting a vast array of important public services that states provide. In March 2025, AG Campbell won a preliminary injunction blocking the policy, and yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit largely affirmed that order.  

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