President Trump arrives back at the White House after visiting New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl. A federal judge on Monday found that the administration has not fully followed his order to unfreeze federal spending.
Jose Luis Magana/FR159526 AP
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Jose Luis Magana/FR159526 AP
A federal judge in Rhode Island has found that the Trump administration has continued to improperly freeze some federal funds, despite a temporary restraining order issued late last month blocking its efforts to pause payments for grants and other federal programs.
In a five-page order issued Monday, U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell, Jr. wrote that the administration, in several instances, has continued “to improperly freeze federal funds and refused to resume disbursement of appropriated federal funds.”
The Trump administration has said the freeze is necessary in order to review federal funding to make sure it aligns with the president’s agenda. But in his order, McConnell said the freeze was “likely unconstitutional and has caused and continues to cause irreparable harm to a vast portion of this country.”
Monday’s order came in response to a lawsuit brought by attorneys general in 22 states and the District of Columbia. In his decision, McConnell ordered the administration to “immediately restore frozen funding” and “immediately end any federal funding pause” that affects the challengers.
The case is one of two lawsuits filed against the administration in response to the attempted funding pause, originally detailed in a memo by the Office of Management and Budget in late January.
In addition to the order in Rhode Island, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. has also issued a temporary restraining order against the administration — blocking the memo from taking effect and barring the administration from carrying it out “under a different name.”
