Trump’s funding freeze temporarily blocked by court – what we know so far

President's push to unravel programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion will affect everything from healthcare and education to cancer research, if allowed to proceed

A federal judge has temporarily blocked a move by US president Donald Trump to pause trillions of dollars in federal loans, grants and other financial assistance, moments before it was due to take effect.

Trump's acting head of the office of management and budget (OMB), Matthew Vaeth, had earlier instructed all federal agencies to temporarily pause all activities related to obligations or disbursement of all federal financial assistance" in a two-page internal memo. The directive was seen as part of Trump's desire to unravel programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).