A federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to comply with his order to unfreeze federal grants, after attorneys general for several Democratic states claimed the directive

The order comes after Vice President JD Vance posted on social media that “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”

The funds, known as “indirect costs,” help universities maintain expensive labs and other infrastructure. Trump’s administration seeks to cut that funding by roughly half the current amount.

The Justice Department on Monday appealed a federal judge’s order to unfreeze federal grants, hours after the judge ruled that the Trump administration had not complied with his directive.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. ordered President Trump’s administration to immediately restore frozen funding and to halt any pauses in disbursement of congressionally authorized grants.

A federal judge says the Trump administration has been violating his order to resume funding federal grants that the White House attempted to block with a blanket spending freeze last month. U.S. District Judge John McConnell ordered the administration to “immediately restore frozen funding” while his order remains in effect,

U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell said the government has not restored funding in several programs despite his Jan. 31 order temporarily halting the freeze.