A federal judge will temporarily block President Donald Trump’s administration from cutting billions in federal dollars that support COVID-19 initiatives and public health projects throughout the country. The cuts included more than $250 million in Minnesota.

U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy, appointed by Trump in 2019 but first nominated by former President Barack Obama, in Rhode Island said Thursday that she plans to grant the court order sought by Minnesota and 22 other states and the District of Columbia.

“They make a case, a strong case, for the fact that they will succeed on the merits, so I’m going to grant the temporary restraining order,” said McElroy, who plans to issue a written ruling later.

New York Attorney General Letitia James tweeted about the judge’s decision immediately after the hearing, saying: “We’re going to continue our lawsuit and fight to ensure states can provide the medical services Americans need.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie Kane objected to the temporary restraining order in court but she said she was limited in the argument she could make against it, adding that her office was unable to thoroughly review the thousands of documents under the time limitation.

The states’ lawsuit, filed Tuesday, sought to immediately stop the $11 billion in cuts. The money was allocated by Congress during the pandemic and mostly used for COVID-related initiatives, as well as for mental health and substance use efforts. The lawsuit said losing the money would devastate U.S. public health infrastructure, putting states “at greater risk for future pandemics and the spread of otherwise preventable disease and cutting off vital public health services.”

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has defended the decision, saying that the money was being wasted since the pandemic is over.

State and local public health departments already have laid off people, including nearly 200 employees at the Minnesota Department of Health.

“Donald Trump’s contempt for both the rule of law and the people of Minnesota was on full display when he tried to illegally cut $250 million in public health funding to Minnesota,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a Thursday statement after McElroy’s order. “The funds Trump tried to pull go towards mental health and substance abuse services, emergency preparedness, disease management, and so many other important purposes that benefit Minnesotans. I am pleased to have halted these devastating cuts, at least for the time being, and I look forward to continuing to litigate this case and protect the health and well-being of Minnesotans.”

The temporary block on chopping health funding is the latest legal setback for the Trump administration, which is facing some 150 lawsuits on issues ranging from immigration to deep financial and job cuts at federal agencies to transgender rights. Federal judges have issued dozens of orders slowing — at least for now — the president’s ambitious conservative agenda.