A federal court ruled that the Trump administration cannot cancel existing federal grants just because new agency priorities differ—an outcome described as a victory for a coalition of 21 attorneys general and three governors that sued over grant terminations. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled Friday that federal regulations and the Constitution’s spending clause bar cancellations based solely on priority misalignment. The case centers on a pattern in the administration’s second term: terminating billions of dollars in grants, including for university research, as awards no longer align with updated goals. Plaintiffs alleged they held $5.4 billion in existing grants at risk under the administration’s approach. For higher education, the immediate effect is financial: institutions facing abrupt award uncertainty may gain legal cover for already-funded programs, even as the ruling does not undo past terminations. University leaders watching federal compliance and research funding continuity now have a more durable pathway to protect ongoing projects.