Judge Rules Trump Administration Has Not Completely Complied With Order to Unfreeze Federal Spending

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has been found by a federal judge on Monday to not have fully complied with his directive to release frozen federal spending. The White House was instructed to free up all the funds as per the judge’s decision.

Judge John McConnell of the U.S. District Court determined that the administration’s continued struggles to allocate federal funds for initiatives such as early childhood education, pollution reduction, and HIV prevention research were in violation of the order issued on January 31. He mandated that the Trump administration must promptly execute all necessary actions to adhere to the temporary restraining order, which prevented the implementation of a comprehensive freeze on federal funding.

The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Furthermore, the judge specified that the temporary restraining order also prevents the administration from reducing grant funding worth billions of dollars from the National Institutes of Health.

“These pauses in funding violate the plain text of the (temporary restraining order),” he wrote. “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 administration has said in court documents that it was making good-faith efforts to comply with the judge’s ruling in a lawsuit filed by nearly two dozen states.

The Justice Department argued, however, his ruling applied to a sweeping spending freeze outlined in a late January memo. That memo has since been rescinded.

The Justice Department argued that McConnell’s ruling didn’t apply to other spending pauses outlined in different memos, including funds that were part of President Joe Biden’s signature climate, health care and tax package. McConnell disagreed.

The Republican administration previously said the sweeping funding pause would bring federal spending in line with the president’s agenda, and the White House press secretary has indicated some spending halts would continue as part of his blitz of executive orders.

Trump has sought to increase fossil fuel production, remove protections for transgender people and end diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

A different federal judge in Washington has issued a temporary restraining order against the funding freeze plan and since expressed concern that some nonprofit groups weren’t getting their funding.
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Associated Press writer Chris Megerian contributed to this story.