{"id":108113,"date":"2025-02-10T17:02:53","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T01:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/02\/10\/judge-not-convinced-that-trump-admin-violated-court-order-by-accident\/"},"modified":"2025-02-10T17:02:53","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T01:02:53","slug":"judge-not-convinced-that-trump-admin-violated-court-order-by-accident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/02\/10\/judge-not-convinced-that-trump-admin-violated-court-order-by-accident\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge Not Convinced That Trump Admin Violated Court Order By Accident"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
(Photo via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another day, another courtroom smackdown for the Trump administration. Today\u2019s hiding comes courtesy of Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island, who is not impressed with the government\u2019s claim to have violated his prior TRO by accident.<\/p>\n

The case is part of the struggle to wrest power over federal spending from Congress, allowing the president to nix or redirect it at will. It\u2019s a pillar of Project 2025, which hopes to leverage tax dollars \u2014 paid by individual citizens of the states! \u2014 against the states to enact conservative priorities without the need to pass legislation. So, not only will they kill federal fuel efficiency standards, but, if California wants to see any of its federal tax dollars returned to it, they\u2019ll have to agree to not have state-level fuel efficiency standards either. Federalism, schmederalism!<\/em><\/p>\n

On his first day in office, President Trump signed a slew of executive orders aimed at ensuring federal spending aligned with his \u201cpriorities.\u201d So, for instance, in his Unleashing American Energy<\/a> order, he purported to \u201cimmediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-169) or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58).\u201d That is of course wildly illegal \u2014 Congress allocated the funds pursuant to its Article I duties, and the president cannot cancel laws<\/em> by executive fiat. Nevertheless, the following day, Matthew Vaeth, then the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), put out an implementing memo, M-25-11<\/a>, ordering all federal agencies to pause disbursement of congressionally allocated funds pursuant to the executive order.<\/p>\n

A week later, the Trump administration went even further, ordering a pause to all<\/em> non-defense spending under a second OMB Memo, M-25-13<\/a>. That memo was challenged and enjoined in multiple courts: first by Judge Loren Alikhan in DC, in response to a complaint brought by non-profit agencies cut off from promised funding; and second in Rhode Island, where Judge McConnell issued a TRO.<\/p>\n

Both judges were incredulous at the executive branch\u2019s naked power grab.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Executive\u2019s statement that the Executive Branch has a duty \u2018to align Federal spending and action with the will of the American people as expressed through Presidential priorities,\u2019 is a constitutionally flawed statement,\u201d Judge McConnell wrote in the January 31 TRO<\/a>. \u201cThe Executive Branch has a duty to align federal spending and action with the will of the people as expressed through congressional appropriations, not through \u2018Presidential priorities.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the pendency of the Temporary Restraining Order, Defendants shall not pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate Defendants\u2019 compliance with awards and obligations to provide federal financial assistance to the States, and
Defendants shall not impede the States\u2019 access to such awards and obligations, except on the basis of the applicable authorizing statutes, regulations, and terms,\u201d he ordered.<\/p>\n

Note that this prohibition was not<\/em> tied to the OMB memo, which had by then been rescinded in a ham-handed effort<\/a> to moot the litigation. <\/p>\n

At a hearing last Wednesday, counsel for New York suggested that the government was still insisting on its right to withhold funds under the Unleashing American Energy order. And in an emergency motion<\/a>\u00a0to enforce the TRO and a\u00a0motion for preliminary injunction<\/a>, both filed Friday, she attached correspondence<\/a> from Daniel Schwei, the DOJ lawyer arguing the case, explaining the government\u2019s reasoning.<\/p>\n

Basically, Schwei says that the funds are being impounded<\/a> pursuant to the earlier OMB memo, M-25-11, not the now-rescinded M-25-13. And even though the memos instruct federal agencies to do the same (wildly illegal) thing, it\u2019s fine if the money is impounded for some other reason<\/em> than the second OMB directive.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven that Plaintiffs here do not challenge OMB Memo M-25-11, Defendants have reasonably interpreted the temporary restraining order not to extend to that Memorandum, and the Court should not enjoin something that is not properly
challenged in the Complaint,\u201d he argued last night in an opposition<\/a> to the emergency motion. <\/p>\n

But perhaps hedging his bets, Schwei requested the court \u201cclarify\u201d its order, rather than grant the plaintiffs\u2019 motion: \u201cEven if the Court disagrees, however, Defendants\u2019 interpretation certainly did not run afoul of a \u2018clear and unambiguous command\u2019 in the Order.\u201d<\/p>\n

That \u2026 did not go over<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Judge McConnell began his order<\/a> with a quote from Maness v. Meyers<\/em>, 419 U.S. 449 (1975), reminding all parties that \u201cPersons who make private determinations of the law and refuse to obey an order generally risk criminal contempt even if the order is ultimately ruled incorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe plain language of the TRO entered in this case prohibits all categorical pauses or freezes in obligations or disbursements based on the OMB Directive or based on the President\u2019s 2025 Executive Orders,\u201d he continued, noting that, as proof of compliance with the TRO, the government docketed the Notice of Court Order<\/a> sent to the agencies which says twice<\/em> that \u201cFederal agencies cannot pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate any awards or obligations on the basis of the OMB Memo, or on the basis of the President\u2019s recently issued Executive Orders.\u201d<\/p>\n

The judge instructed the government to unfreeze all funds immediately, and, for clarity, added that \u201cThe TRO requirements include any pause or freeze included in the Unleashing Guidance. \u2026 The directives in OMB M-25-11 are included in the TRO.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, surely that will teach them a lesson. The Trump administration will go forth and sin no m\u2014<\/p>\n

Ooops!<\/em> There\u2019s another motion to show cause<\/a> in the parallel USAID case alleging that the government is violating Judge Carl Nichols\u2019 TRO<\/a> barring them from effectively firing employees. Apparently they remain locked out of their computers and their offices have been taken over by immigration officials.<\/p>\n

LOL.<\/p>\n

New York v. Trump<\/a>\u00a0[Docket via Court Listener]<\/p>\n

\n

Liz Dye<\/a>\u00a0lives in Baltimore where she produces the Law and Chaos\u00a0substack<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The post Judge Not Convinced That Trump Admin Violated Court Order By Accident<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
(Photo via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another day, another courtroom smackdown for the Trump administration. Today\u2019s hiding comes courtesy of Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island, who is not impressed with the government\u2019s claim to have violated his prior TRO by accident.<\/p>\n

The case is part of the struggle to wrest power over federal spending from Congress, allowing the president to nix or redirect it at will. It\u2019s a pillar of Project 2025, which hopes to leverage tax dollars \u2014 paid by individual citizens of the states! \u2014 against the states to enact conservative priorities without the need to pass legislation. So, not only will they kill federal fuel efficiency standards, but, if California wants to see any of its federal tax dollars returned to it, they\u2019ll have to agree to not have state-level fuel efficiency standards either. Federalism, schmederalism!<\/em><\/p>\n

On his first day in office, President Trump signed a slew of executive orders aimed at ensuring federal spending aligned with his \u201cpriorities.\u201d So, for instance, in his Unleashing American Energy<\/a> order, he purported to \u201cimmediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-169) or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58).\u201d That is of course wildly illegal \u2014 Congress allocated the funds pursuant to its Article I duties, and the president cannot cancel laws<\/em> by executive fiat. Nevertheless, the following day, Matthew Vaeth, then the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), put out an implementing memo, M-25-11<\/a>, ordering all federal agencies to pause disbursement of congressionally allocated funds pursuant to the executive order.<\/p>\n

A week later, the Trump administration went even further, ordering a pause to all<\/em> non-defense spending under a second OMB Memo, M-25-13<\/a>. That memo was challenged and enjoined in multiple courts: first by Judge Loren Alikhan in DC, in response to a complaint brought by non-profit agencies cut off from promised funding; and second in Rhode Island, where Judge McConnell issued a TRO.<\/p>\n

Both judges were incredulous at the executive branch\u2019s naked power grab.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Executive\u2019s statement that the Executive Branch has a duty \u2018to align Federal spending and action with the will of the American people as expressed through Presidential priorities,\u2019 is a constitutionally flawed statement,\u201d Judge McConnell wrote in the January 31 TRO<\/a>. \u201cThe Executive Branch has a duty to align federal spending and action with the will of the people as expressed through congressional appropriations, not through \u2018Presidential priorities.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the pendency of the Temporary Restraining Order, Defendants shall not pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate Defendants\u2019 compliance with awards and obligations to provide federal financial assistance to the States, and
Defendants shall not impede the States\u2019 access to such awards and obligations, except on the basis of the applicable authorizing statutes, regulations, and terms,\u201d he ordered.<\/p>\n

Note that this prohibition was not<\/em> tied to the OMB memo, which had by then been rescinded in a ham-handed effort<\/a> to moot the litigation. <\/p>\n

At a hearing last Wednesday, counsel for New York suggested that the government was still insisting on its right to withhold funds under the Unleashing American Energy order. And in an emergency motion<\/a>\u00a0to enforce the TRO and a\u00a0motion for preliminary injunction<\/a>, both filed Friday, she attached correspondence<\/a> from Daniel Schwei, the DOJ lawyer arguing the case, explaining the government\u2019s reasoning.<\/p>\n

Basically, Schwei says that the funds are being impounded<\/a> pursuant to the earlier OMB memo, M-25-11, not the now-rescinded M-25-13. And even though the memos instruct federal agencies to do the same (wildly illegal) thing, it\u2019s fine if the money is impounded for some other reason<\/em> than the second OMB directive.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven that Plaintiffs here do not challenge OMB Memo M-25-11, Defendants have reasonably interpreted the temporary restraining order not to extend to that Memorandum, and the Court should not enjoin something that is not properly
challenged in the Complaint,\u201d he argued last night in an opposition<\/a> to the emergency motion. <\/p>\n

But perhaps hedging his bets, Schwei requested the court \u201cclarify\u201d its order, rather than grant the plaintiffs\u2019 motion: \u201cEven if the Court disagrees, however, Defendants\u2019 interpretation certainly did not run afoul of a \u2018clear and unambiguous command\u2019 in the Order.\u201d<\/p>\n

That \u2026 did not go over<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Judge McConnell began his order<\/a> with a quote from Maness v. Meyers<\/em>, 419 U.S. 449 (1975), reminding all parties that \u201cPersons who make private determinations of the law and refuse to obey an order generally risk criminal contempt even if the order is ultimately ruled incorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe plain language of the TRO entered in this case prohibits all categorical pauses or freezes in obligations or disbursements based on the OMB Directive or based on the President\u2019s 2025 Executive Orders,\u201d he continued, noting that, as proof of compliance with the TRO, the government docketed the Notice of Court Order<\/a> sent to the agencies which says twice<\/em> that \u201cFederal agencies cannot pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate any awards or obligations on the basis of the OMB Memo, or on the basis of the President\u2019s recently issued Executive Orders.\u201d<\/p>\n

The judge instructed the government to unfreeze all funds immediately, and, for clarity, added that \u201cThe TRO requirements include any pause or freeze included in the Unleashing Guidance. \u2026 The directives in OMB M-25-11 are included in the TRO.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, surely that will teach them a lesson. The Trump administration will go forth and sin no m\u2014<\/p>\n

Ooops!<\/em> There\u2019s another motion to show cause<\/a> in the parallel USAID case alleging that the government is violating Judge Carl Nichols\u2019 TRO<\/a> barring them from effectively firing employees. Apparently they remain locked out of their computers and their offices have been taken over by immigration officials.<\/p>\n

LOL.<\/p>\n

National Council of Nonprofits v. Office of Management and Budget<\/a>\u00a0[Docket via Court Listener]<\/p>\n

\n

Liz Dye<\/a>\u00a0lives in Baltimore where she produces the Law and Chaos\u00a0substack<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Photo via Getty Images) Another day, another courtroom smackdown for the Trump administration. Today\u2019s hiding comes courtesy of Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island, who is not impressed with the government\u2019s claim to have violated his prior TRO by accident. The case is part of the struggle to wrest power over federal spending from Congress, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":108093,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/donald-trump-GettyImages-1152627372-dJRgSd.jpeg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}