The Trump administration over the weekend denied accusations that it was violating a federal court order barring the government from implementing a policy that would freeze funding on distributions to federal aid programs.

In a 17-page filing on Sunday, the administration asserted that any continuing freezes in disbursements did not “run afoul” of the directives contained in a Jan. 31, temporary restraining order from U.S. District Judge John McConnell, which found the spending freeze both unconstitutional and in violation of a federal law blocking government action deemed “arbitrary and capricious.”

“Defendants respectfully submit that the actions described below do not run afoul of the Court’s injunction, or at least not a ‘clear and unambiguous command’ in the Court’s injunction,” the administration wrote in the filing. “Rather, they represent good-faith, diligent efforts to comply with the injunction across the broad spectrum of Federal financial assistance implicated by the Court’s Order. Thus, Defendants’ actions are consistent with the Court’s Order, and Plaintiffs’ motion should be denied.”

The memo at the heart of the litigation — issued on Jan. 27, by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) — purported to make good on a series of executive orders issued by President Donald Trump outlining the administration’s spending priorities. It stated, in part (bold in original):

[T]o the extent permissible under applicable law, Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.

The directive caused mass confusion throughout entities dependent on the federal government for funding as entire payment portals and websites went dark overnight. In response to the widespread panic and disorientation, the administration quickly rescinded the OMB memo with a terse second memo that also directed employees to follow up with agency lawyers if they had any questions.

A coalition of states, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, on Friday accused the administration of violating the order, telling the court that since the TRO went into effect, there had been “an ever-changing kaleidoscope of federal financial assistance that has been suspended, deleted, in transit, under review, and more.”

“Plaintiff States and entities within the Plaintiff States continue to be denied access to federal funds,” the States wrote in the Friday filing. “These denials continue to cause immediate irreparable harm.”