Attorney General Mayes Releases Statement on First Circuit Decision Upholding Block on Trump Administration Funding Freeze
PHOENIX – Attorney General Kris Mayes today 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:
"When the Trump administration attempted to unilaterally freeze federal funding, they threatened Medicaid coverage, dollars that go to fight the fentanyl crisis, and countless other essential programs," said Attorney General Mayes "This decision affirms that was unlawful, and that no president can cut off funding appropriated by Congress on a whim. This is yet another win for Arizona against the federal government's unlawful actions over the past year."
In January 2025, Attorney General Mayes joined a coalition of 22 other 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, Attorney General Mayes won a preliminary injunction blocking the policy, and today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit largely affirmed that order.