A US District Judge may issue a restraining order against President Trump's federal funding freeze based on a tweet by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. The judge believes Leavitt's tweet indicates the freeze is still in effect despite the administration rescinding a memo that ordered the pause.
A U.S. District Judge, John McConnell, indicated he may grant a restraining order against President Donald Trump's federal funding freeze. This potential action stems, in part, from a social media post by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment on Wednesday. The Trump administration had issued a memo on Monday ordering a pause on federal grants and loans, but this order was rescinded on Wednesday.
The original order had already been partially blocked by a different federal judge on Tuesday. Leavitt stated shortly after the memo reversal that the move was intended to 'end any confusion created by the court's injunction,' maintaining that Trump's funding freeze would 'remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented.' She emphasized in a post on X, formerly Twitter, 'This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo.' During a hearing on Wednesday, Judge McConnell, who is presiding over a lawsuit against the freeze by 23 state attorneys general, suggested he may grant a restraining order against the Trump administration from freezing funds. He pointed to Leavitt's post, indicating it demonstrated that the decision to reverse the memo was merely a facade. According to Politico, McConnell reportedly said, 'I'm inclined to grant the restraining order. I fear...that the administration is acting with a distinction without a difference.' Politico reporter Kyle Cheney wrote on X that the judge specifically cited 'comments by the president's press secretary' as the reason for likely blocking the administration's 'hugely ambiguous' order to freeze funds. Stephen Portnoy, a national correspondent for ABC News Radio, also shared Leavitt's post, commenting that 'a federal judge in Rhode Island says *this tweet* has convinced him to grant a temporary restraining order blocking a broad funding pause.' 'The order has not been issued yet,' he added. 'But Judge Jack McConnell says the WH press secretary's tweet above provides him with 'sufficient evidence' that a funding pause is still in place, and he'll make a final ruling after papers are filed by both sides.' Department of Justice lawyer Daniel Schwei unsuccessfully argued in court that the lawsuit should be dismissed because it targeted the OMB memo, according to The Providence Journal. The Trump administration will have 24 hours to respond to a plaintiff-drafted proposal to block the freeze before McConnell makes a final decision. Democratic Representative Richard Neal of Massachusetts, in a statement, said, 'The Constitution is explicitly clear about where the power of the purse lies, and that is with Congress. The courts have previously decided on this issue and they have done so once again, reiterating the fact that the President's power is not unchecked... Any future attempts to pause funding that has already been authorized by Congress will be stopped dead in its tracks.' Margot Cleveland, senior legal correspondent for conservative website The Federalist, posted to X, 'During today's hearing, Judge McConnell reportedly suggested he was inclined to grant the TRO given that Press Secretary's comments that freeze remains on. IF Judge McConnell enters TRO it would be outrageously wrong--but a TRO cannot (typically) be appealed!' The next steps involve McConnell potentially issuing a temporary restraining order against the funding freeze later this week. However, the Trump administration is likely to explore alternative methods to implement the freeze, leading to further legal battles over the policy
FUNDING FREEZE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL JUDGES WHITE HOUSE KAROLINE LEAVITT
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