The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied an appeal by the Trump administration to pause an order by a Rhode Island federal judge which ruled that the administration can’t freeze government spending for thousands of federal programs that are under review.
A three-judge appellate panel ruled for U.S. District Judge John McConnell to quickly clarify the concerns the administration had raised. The 1st Circuit also asked the administration to file additional documents by the end of Feb. 13 to further make their case that Judge McConnell overreached his authority.
In an appeal lodged by the Justice Department on Monday, the executive branch argued that the judge’s order bars the president from exercising his lawful authority.
The White House has said it will continue to seek legal clarity on the authority of the president to decide what the government should spend money on, which could see the issue escalate to the Supreme Court.
“These unlawful injunctions are a continuation of the weaponization of justice against President Trump,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Judge McConnell, who blocked the funding freeze with a temporary restraining order on Jan. 31, said on Feb. 10 that the Trump administration violated his order to halt the funding freeze and to release the withheld funds.
Judge McConnell had initially ruled on a lawsuit by Democratic attorneys general from 22 states, as well as the District of Columbia after the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a memo ordering a freeze of billions of dollars in federal loans and grants.
OMB had rescinded the memo on Jan. 29 but the judge determined the temporary restraining order was pertinent due to evidence that a freeze on some federal funds remained in effect.
The ruling is Trump’s first appellate court setback of his second term. U.S. Circuit Judges David Barron, Lara Montecalvo, and Julie Rikelman make up the appellate panel.
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