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From the New York Times: A federal judge on Monday said the White House has defied his order to release billions of dollars in federal grants, marking the first time a judge has expressly declared that the Trump White House was disobeying a judicial mandate.
The ruling by Judge John J. McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island federal court ordered Trump administration officials to comply with what he called “the plain text” of an edict he issued last month.
Judge McConnell’s ruling marked a step toward what could quickly evolve into a high-stakes showdown between the executive and judicial branches, a day after a social media post by Vice President JD Vance claimed that “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” elevating the chance that the White House could provoke a constitutional crisis.
Both Judge McConnell and a federal judge in Washington, D.C., had previously ordered the White House to unfreeze federal funds locked up by a memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget that demanded that billions of dollars in federal grants be held back until they were determined to comply with President Trump’s priorities, including with ideological litmus tests.
The report explains that on Friday, 22 Democrat attorneys general complained to Judge McConnell, accusing the Trump administration of failing to comply with his earlier order.
Now the judge is ‘ordering’ the White House to comply with his original ruling.
The White House fired right back, saying in a statement, “Each executive order will hold up in court because every action of the Trump-Vance administration is completely lawful. Any legal challenge against it is nothing more than an attempt to undermine the will of the American people.”
Judge McConnell was appointed by Barack Obama in 2011.
MCCONNELL IS A RADICAL DEMOCrat ACTIVIST
OVERSTEPPING HIS JUDICIAL AUTHORITY.
THIS POLITICAL PARTISANSHIP MUST CEASE. https://t.co/9LfhFYOaBE pic.twitter.com/uMVKCOLoYK— Karen (@KaRen58044184) February 10, 2025
Vice President JD Vance wrote Monday morning, “If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal. Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”
If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal.
If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal.
Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) February 9, 2025
Elon Musk wrote, “What happens is that those who want the government corruption & waste to continue will shop around the country for an activist judge to do their bidding. It is an undemocratic and unconstitutional power grab by a tiny group of radical leftists!”
What happens is that those who want the government corruption & waste to continue will shop around the country for an activist judge to do their bidding.
It is an undemocratic and unconstitutional power grab by a tiny group of radical leftists! https://t.co/h3oLocEuoB
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 10, 2025
Judge McConnell is getting blasted by the MAGA world.
X user ‘Wall Street Mav’ wrote, “We need a member of Congress to file articles of impeachment against Obama appointed federal judge McConnell. He doesn’t have the authority to tell the President how to spend money or demand that the President come back to that federal judge to get “permission” to do anything.”
We need a member of Congress to file articles of impeachment against Obama appointed federal judge McConnell.
He doesn’t have the authority to tell the President how to spend money or demand that the President come back to that federal judge to get “permission” to do anything.
— Wall Street Mav (@WallStreetMav) February 10, 2025
BREAKING: Rhode Island federal Judge John McConnell says the Trump administration has violated his prior order to block a funding freeze. McConnell orders admin to resume payments for federal programs, including NIH funding. More to come.
Order: https://t.co/eLBxU1CSOT pic.twitter.com/S2B49jJOYt
— Democracy Docket (@DemocracyDocket) February 10, 2025
Breaking News: A judge declared for the first time that the Trump White House had defied a judicial mandate by ignoring his order to release billions in grants. https://t.co/uO8aoq6ov2
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 10, 2025
LAWFARE: The order from Rhode Island Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. (Obama appointee) requires the president to resume all paused funding as well as restoring missed payments. He threatened arrest if his order was not obeyed. https://t.co/7OQQP10gS1
— @amuse (@amuse) February 10, 2025
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