The restraining order, along with a similar directive by another judge from Friday, amounted to a rebuke of the move as an overreach that likely lacked legitimate authority.

A federal judge on Thursday said he stood ready to enforce an order he issued blocking U.S. President Donald Trump's administration from freezing federal grants, loans and other financial assistance after Democratic-led states said billions of dollars in funding was still being tied up.

The Trump administration’s push for a sweeping pause on federal grants and loans totaling potentially trillions of dollars is on hold for now, on the order of a federal judge.