MISSOULA — A federal judge put the Trump Administration's federal funding freeze on hold Tuesday afternoon, just minutes before it was set to go into effect.
The ruling means payment of active federal awards would have to continue through at least Monday, Feb. 3.
President Trump had ordered the pause on federal funding as his administration reviews spending.
The plan sparked confusion across government entities and organizations. However, the temporary hold gives the court more time to review the details of the case with a hearing set for Feb. 3.
Before the judge placed the temporary hold, officials across Missoula released similar statements about the potential impacts of the federal freeze.
Both the Missoula mayor's office and the University of Montana indicated they needed more information before assessing the impacts on the city and university.
UM tells MTN that while they don't know how it would impact their research programs, they say it won't alter student financial aid offers.
"What we know is the executive order will not impact students' ability to process and receive federal financial aid. We have not received clear or definitive directives from federal government agencies regarding how this executive order will impact our campus, our research enterprise, or the hard-working employees who rely on these funds to serve students," UM Spokesman Dave Kuntz said.
Kuntz added that "Annually, UM receives more than $100 million in federal funds through research grants and agreements, as well as student-facing services like TRiO."
Missoula County Public Schools also addressed the federal policy changes, releasing a statement around the same time the judge issued the temporary hold.
"Currently, every indication is that next fiscal year's funding will go out on time. But we are still trying to understand the impacts to school meals, regardless, we will continue to provide food service for all of our students."
- information from Emily Brown included in this report.
