A Trump administration freeze on grants and other federal funding paralyzed state Medicaid agencies and some health providers for most of Tuesday until a federal judge in D.C. issued a temporary injunction.

After major backlash, Trump’s radical plan to freeze government spending is on hold. Now, it’s all very confusing and somewhat opaque — which, under Trump, is by design — but here’s what appears to have happened: We often forget that Trump has frequently been cowed by public opinion when it turns against him.