Key points
- Loren AliKhan serves as a judge in Washington, DC, district court
- She was appointed by then-President Joe Biden
- Loren AliKhan is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Centre
ISLAMABAD: A federal judge has stopped United States (US) President Donald Trump’s plan to freeze hundreds of billions of dollars in payments to federal programmes.
Financial Times and Newsweek reported that Loren AliKhan, a judge in the Washington, DC, district court, temporarily halted part of the Trump White House’s order to pause federal financial aid, and ordered the funding to continue until a hearing on February 3rd.
Who is Loren AliKhan?
Loren AliKhan has served as a district judge for the District Court for the District of Columbia since 2023. According to the website of the United States District Court, she was appointed to the District Court in December 2023.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, she had received her BA, summa cum laude, from Bard College at Simon’s Rock in 2003, and her JD, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Centre in 2006, it added.
In February 2022, Judge AliKhan was appointed to the DC Court of Appeals. She served as an Associate Judge there until her appointment to the District Court, the website said.
Judge AliKhan served on the DC Circuit’s Advisory Committee on Procedures from 2017 until her appointment to the bench. She is a member of the American Law Institute and sits on the boards of the American Inns of Court, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, and the Lawyers’ Club of Washington.
Loren AliKhan was appointed to the district court and court of appeals by then-President Joe Biden.
Pakistan origin
In her opening statement as nominee to be an associate judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, Loren L. AliKhan stated: My father was born in British India and, after independence and partition, he and his family made the arduous journey to what is now Pakistan. Just over 50 years ago, he undertook another journey—this time to the United States—where he settled in Baltimore. My father is a cardiologist who spent time in the United States Public Health Service, and my mother was a nurse.
White House’s reaction
AP reported that the White House did not immediately comment on the order of the federal judge, which leaves unresolved a potential constitutional clash over control of taxpayer money. Judge Loren AliKhan halted the order until at least Monday, after several non-profit groups filed suit claiming it was illegal.
Attorneys general of over 20 Democratic-led states later filed a separate suit seeking to block the order.
Even before the order was set to begin, online portals used to access the Medicaid health insurance program for poor families and disabled individuals became inaccessible.
