A U.S. judge ruled on Monday that the Trump administration violated a court order lifting a freeze on federal spending. U.S. District Judge John McConnell, based in Providence, Rhode Island, had previously blocked the spending freeze with a temporary restraining order on January 31. However, a group of Democratic state attorneys general, who had filed a lawsuit to block the freeze, claimed that the government was still withholding funds last week.
This ruling marks what appears to be the first instance of a judge finding that the Trump administration had violated a court order halting a new policy. In response, the Trump administration announced plans to appeal the decision.
“The broad, sweeping freeze of federal funds is, as the court found, likely unconstitutional and has caused significant harm,” Judge McConnell said. “These funding pauses violate the clear terms of the restraining order.”
McConnell ordered that all withheld funds be released immediately, at least until a hearing could be held regarding the states’ request for a more permanent ruling.
On February 6, an attorney from the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James informed McConnell that state agencies were still struggling to access federal funds. These funds included billions of dollars for infrastructure projects under the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Trump administration had argued that the court order did not apply to certain environmental or infrastructure spending. They also said some payments were delayed for “operational and administrative reasons.”
However, McConnell rejected this argument, stating that his order was “clear and unambiguous” in applying to all funds frozen due to President Trump’s executive orders.
The states originally sued over a memorandum from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that announced a broad freeze on federal spending. Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, OMB withdrew the memo.
The freeze was part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to cut federal spending and reshape the federal bureaucracy, leading to multiple lawsuits. In a separate case involving efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), federal employee unions have accused the administration of violating a court order to reinstate workers who had been placed on leave.
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