The Trump administration likely violated federal law with a controversial directive that aimed to pause spending on potentially trillions of dollars of grants and loans to a vast array of recipients across the country,

The withdrawal of the federal freeze was a stunning about-face for President Donald Trump’s White House, which has so far pushed the envelope to reshape the federal government, sowing chaos and confusion in firing career civil servants, pausing foreign aid programs and offering federal workers a buyout.

A U.S. federal judge on Monday extended a temporary block on the Trump administration's spending freeze. Why it matters: District Judge Loren AliKhan expressed concern in her order that the Trump administration was still enforcing the spending freeze despite the temporary restraining order.

The order came in response to a memo released by the Office of Management and Budget last week directing agencies to freeze funding for federal grants and other programs.

President Donald Trump’s administration officially rescinded its order to freeze federal spending on Wednesday after the directive sparked administrative chaos across government agencies. The order was temporarily halted by a federal district judge on Tuesday.

A federal court in Washington, D.C., has extended a temporary injunction against President Trump’s effort to freeze trillions of dollars of federal spending. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan ruled Trump’s order appears to violate the Constitution’s separation of powers,

U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. is expected to rule shortly on whether to block the federal funding freeze.

A White House memo ordered a halt to federal assistance and a review to align spending with Donald Trump’s priorities. Many legal experts say the order is unconstitutional.

The federal government fell into chaos Tuesday as officials braced for potential interruptions to programs that range from protecting food safety to responding to natural disasters.

Several executive orders Trump signed last week pause or end some federal funding. Those executive orders, which remain in place, include the freezing of foreign aid, all funds to federal grantees who received money for DEI-related purposes and all funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act.

A small nonprofit, which helps West Virginians with disabilities, found its federal government reimbursements funds were unavailable as of Sunday.