Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey, alongside a coalition of 21 other Democratic state attorneys general, on Wednesday were able to secure a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration, blocking their planned steep cuts to research grants at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The injunction, granted Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley in Boston, takes the place of a temporary restraining order against NIH that halted its attempts to slash the research overhead funding, and will prevent the Trump administration from proceeding with the cuts until a final ruling in the case is made.

“The imminent risk of halting life-saving clinical trials, disrupting the development of
innovative medical research and treatment, and shuttering of research facilities, without regard for current patient care, warranted the issuance of a nationwide temporary restraining order to maintain the status quo, until the matter could be fully addressed before the Court,” Judge Kelley wrote in her order.

The plaintiffs, made up of a coalition of Democratic state attorneys general from 22 states, including Maine.

The coalition argues that the billions of dollars in funds at stake supports cutting-edge medical and public health research at universities and research institutions across the country.

The cuts in question would be in form of a cap on payments made by NIH for indirect research overhead costs, such as for facilities, utilities and faculty costs.

Attorney General Frey described the preliminary injunction as “a major win for research institutions and the people that rely on their critical work here in Maine and across the country.”

“My colleagues and I will do everything in our power to continue to fight this irresponsible attack on vital public health research,” Frey said.

Frey and his coalition appear to be riding a recent trend in federal courts. U.S. District Court judges in Rhode Island and the District of Columbia also issued orders this week to block funding freezes issued by the Trump administration, in the latest case underscoring Congress’ primacy on appropriations.