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There have been reports that the Trump administration is violating a temporary restraining order stopping them from freezing appropriated government funds.
On Monday, federal judge John McConnell ruled that the Trump administration is in violation of the restraining order and ordered the administration to:
Therefore, consistent with the United States Constitution, United States statutes, United States Supreme Court precedent, and the TRO, the Defendants are hereby further ORDERED as follows:
1. The Defendants must immediately restore frozen funding during the pendency of the TRO until the Court hears and decides the Preliminary Injunction request.
2. The Defendants must immediately end any federal funding pauseduring the pendency of the TRO.
3. The Defendants must immediately take every step necessary to effectuate the TRO, including clearing any administrative, operational, or technical hurdles to implementation.
4. The Defendants must comply with the plain text of the TRO not to pause any funds based on pronouncements pausing funding incorporated into the OMB Directives such as Section 7(a) of the Unleashing Executive Order and the OMB Unleashing Guidance. The TRO requirements include any pause or freeze included in the Unleashing Guidance.
5. The Defendants must immediately restore withheld funds, including those federal funds appropriated in the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act. The directives in OMB M-25-11 are included in the TRO.
6. The Defendants must resume the funding of institutes and other agencies of the Defendants (for example, the National Institute for Health) that are included in the scope of the Court’s TRO.
Republicans in Congress have been ducking and dodging the idea that Donald Trump is violating a federal court order. Now that he has been found in violation, the question is, what, if anything, are Republicans going to do about it?
If Republicans choose to do nothing, it will be up to Democrats to take a stand, and that means refusing to work with Trump on a government funding bill so that the government shuts down.
Should Trump continue to violate the law, Democrats need to not work with Republicans to avoid a default.
Only when House and Senate Republicans start to have to pay the price are they going to pressure Trump to comply with the court order.
If Trump refuses to follow the law, Democrats need to make it hurt. Today’s ruling is another step in that process.
What do you think of the judge’s order? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
