Press Release: 7/21/2026

AG Campbell Wins Ruling Protecting Billions In Critical Federal Funding

 

Judge Rules Trump Administration Cannot Subvert Will of Congress Through Obscure Regulation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

7/20/2026

MEDIA CONTACT

Allie Zuliani, Deputy Press Secretary

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Call Allie Zuliani, Deputy Press Secretary at (617) 727-2543

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Email Allie Zuliani, Deputy Press Secretary at Allie.Zuliani@mass.gov

BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced that a coalition of 24 states won a key ruling declaring that the Trump Administration was wrong in interpreting language in a federal regulation to allow it to terminate federal awards based on new program goals or agency priorities not identified until after the award was granted. The Trump Administration has consistently invoked the regulatory language – known as the “agency priorities” clause – to indiscriminately and unlawfully pull billions of dollars in federal funding that Congress had set aside for crucial state programs and services. 

In her decision, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in the District of Massachusetts wrote that five words in U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations -- referencing situations where a grant “no longer effectuates … agency priorities” -- did not give federal agencies effectively unfettered authority to revoke grants nationwide just because the federal administration claims it is shifting its focus.  

“This win makes clear that the Trump Administration cannot abruptly and unlawfully revoke critical funding that our state relies on to address critical issues including food insecurity, public health and safety, climate change and more,” said AG Campbell. “Congress appropriates funding, not the President, and I will continue working to protect the billions in federal dollars our communities rely on.”   

Without providing any lawful justification and without any advance warning or explanation, the Trump Administration relied on this regulation to gut funding across the entire federal government. AG Campbell co-led a multistate coalition in suing the Trump Administrationto stop the unprecedented attack. Prior to the second Trump Administration, federal agencies had not terminated grants merely because the agency’s priorities shifted midway through the grant period.  

The multistate complaint, filed last year, argued that the Trump Administration may not invoke the regulation to terminate grants based on changes in agency preferences that occur after a grant is awarded. The lawsuit also noted the importance of obtaining clarity regarding the scope of this regulation, as states collectively accept hundreds of billions of dollars a year that are at risk of termination pursuant to this regulation.  

Judge Talwani granted the states a declaratory judgment that the clause in OMB regulations does not authorize the Trump Administration to terminate funding based on agency priorities that were only identified after the grant was awarded.  

In Massachusetts, the Trump Administration’s terminations cut off critical federal funding for programs that directly serve vulnerable communities. Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture terminated a $11 million cooperative agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. The agreement had supported 31 projects connecting nearly 500 local farmers and producers to over 700 food distribution sites statewide, providing fresh, healthy food to residents across the Commonwealth. Similarly, the Environmental Protection Agency terminated a $1 million grant awarded to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to reduce asthma triggers in low-income communities in Springfield, Holyoke, and Chicopee—areas with high rates of asthma due to aging housing stock. Both terminations cited the Administration’s claim that these programs no longer aligned with shifting agency priorities, despite their ongoing importance to public health, food security, and community well-being. 

Nationwide, the indiscriminate cuts have caused programmatic chaos and uncertainty for grantees, including those working to combat violent crime, conduct lifesaving medical and scientific research, educate students, protect clean drinking water, safeguard public health, address food insecurity, and much more. 

AG Campbell was joined in filing this lawsuit, which she co-led with the attorneys general of New Jersey and New York, by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin, as well as the governors of Kansas, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. 

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