Judge blocks Trump administration from freezing federal funding without congressional approval - ABC News

Judge McConnell noted that his order is "not limiting the Executive's discretion or micromanaging the administration of federal funds," but rather it reiterates the limit of the president's power. 

"Rather, consistent with the Constitution, statutes, and caselaw, the Court is simply holding that the Executive's discretion to impose its own policy preferences on appropriated funds can be exercised only if it is authorized by the congressionally approved appropriations statutes," he wrote. 

In his ruling, the judge offered a history lesson to explain why the funding freeze was unlawful...

https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-blocks-trump-administration-freezing-federal-funding-congressional/story