In a case involving 22 states, the jurist for the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island previously ruled against Trump’s executive order in January.
A federal judge found on Feb. 10 that President Donald Trump’s administration has failed to fully abide by his earlier order to unfreeze all federal funding.
Judge John McConnell of the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island previously ruled against Trump’s executive order in January, which called for a sweeping federal funding freeze to root out fraud.
On Monday, the judge announced that 22 states and the District of Columbia that filed for a temporary restraining order against the funding freeze presented evidence showing that Trump’s staff “in some cases have continued to improperly freeze federal funds and refused to resume disbursement of appropriated federal funds.”
“The freezes in effect now were a result of the broad categorical order, not a specific finding of possible fraud,” McConnell wrote in his ruling. “The broad categorical and sweeping freeze of federal funds is, as the Court found, likely unconstitutional and has caused and continues to cause irreparable harm to a vast portion of this country.”
The Justice Department argued that McConnell’s ruling did not apply to other pauses in spending, such as those that are part of former President Joe Biden’s climate, health care, and tax package. The judge disagreed.
“The Defendants must immediately take every step necessary to effectuate the [temporary restraining order], including clearing any administrative, operational, or technical hurdles to implementation,” McConnell ordered.
Defendants must also restore funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act, as well as funding of institutes and other agencies such as the National Institutes of Health.
However, the judge made clear that the administration can request “targeted relief” from the temporary restraining order “where they can show a specific instance where they are acting in compliance
with this Order but otherwise withholding funds due to specific authority.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.