The judge had already ruled that the administration was not complying with his previous order requiring the government to keep disbursing money to states.

U.S. District Judge John McConnell found in favor of 23 states that sued over the controversial directive, saying the administration didn't provide any rationale giving Trump the authority to stop congressionally approved funding.

President Donald Trump's administration suffered another legal blow in its efforts to freeze federal funding for programs that do not align with the Republican's agenda on Thursday when a second judge blocked it from implementing a sweeping pause on spending on grants,