Latest news with #LorenAliKhan
The Herald Scotland
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Senate keeps provision for curbing court orders in Trump bill
Some fellow Republicans in the narrowly divided Congress have said they would oppose the bill over the provision or that it would be removed through a parliamentary maneuver. But its inclusion in the Senate draft reflects the support of leadership to include and defend it. Legislation would require litigants to post bonds before courts could enforce orders The provision would require judges to collect bonds from litigants challenging the government before blocking policies through injunctions or temporary restraining orders. Without a bond, the provision would prevent judges from enforcing their orders through contempt proceedings. Judges have always been able to collect bonds in civil lawsuits, essentially to ensure that defendants are reimbursed if they eventually win their cases. But judges traditionally don't collect bonds in cases against the government because the disputes are over policy rather than money like in a lawsuit between two businesses. Trump and his Republican allies would like to change that. He signed a memo in March directing the Justice Department to ask for bonds in all civil cases against the administration. Judges have temporarily blocked dozens of his policies. If the legislation were enacted, it would undo those blocks until judges set bonds. Bonds could reach trillions of dollars in cases against government Judges could set a nominal bond of $1, according to legal experts. But if they set a larger bond that litigants couldn't afford, judges wouldn't be able to enforce their orders and the Trump administration could ignore them, experts said. In February, U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan refused a request from Trump's White House Office of Management Budget to require a bond from the National Council of Nonprofits when she blocked the government from freezing all federal grants. She said it could have required trillions of dollars because that was how much was at stake in the case but that OMB would suffer no monetary damage from the case. "The court declines," Alikhan wrote. Some GOP lawmakers opposed the provision they weren't aware was in House-passed bill If the Senate changes the legislation, the House would have to vote on the bill again. Some GOP lawmakers have voiced opposition to the provision at raucous town halls. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Nebraska, said May 27 he was unaware of the provision and didn't support it when he voted for the bill. The House approved the bill on a 215-214 vote, so any potential loss of support could hurt the bill's chances. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said May 30 the bond provision "will not be" in the Senate-approved bill because she expected it to be removed by the parliamentarian under a rule requiring everything in the legislation to have an impact on the budget.
Associated Press
04-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Judge blocks Trump from dismantling agency that funds community groups in Latin American countries
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge agreed on Friday to block the Trump administration from dismantling an independent agency that distributes grant money to community development groups in Latin American and Caribbean countries. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan ruled that the administration doesn't have the authority to remove the head of the Inter-American Foundation, which is governed by a bipartisan nine-member board. Congress created the foundation more than 50 years ago. It has disbursed $945 million to thousands of grant recipients in roughly three dozen countries. On Feb. 19, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for dramatically reducing the size of the federal government. It listed the IAF as one of the agencies targeted for cuts. Representatives of billionaire Trump advisor Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency showed up at the foundation's offices on Feb. 20. Several days later, the White House removed all of the agency's board members, fired Sara Aviel as president and CEO of the IAF and appointed Pete Marocco as the agency's acting board chair. Marocco later appointed himself as Aviel's temporary replacement.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Georgia gets another win over in Alabama appeal over Allatoona Lake ‘water wars'
A federal judge denied efforts by Alabama to have more say over how Georgia water is portioned out during droughts by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. On Monday, Judge Loren AliKhan ruled in favor of USACE and the State of Georgia, following up on a previous December 2023 agreement made by Alabama and Georgia regarding water in Lake Allatoona. In 2021, 'the Corps had updated its operational manual in 2021 to grant the State of Georgia's request for additional water supplies,' so Alabama filed an additional complaint in court, saying that the way the Corps had allocated water for the states when in drought conditions. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Alabama's initial lawsuit, which kicked off 'the first phase of this lengthy litigation' started in 2015, when the Corps revised the manual for using water in what's known as the ACT Basin. That water system is made up of the Alabama, Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers, along with their larger network of tributaries and drainage areas. When USACE updated the manual for the first time in about 50 years, Alabama sued. TRENDING STORIES: Police searched woman's vehicle over marijuana smell. What was inside impacts dozens across metro Just how 'rich' are the 'Real Housewives of Atlanta?' Here's each one's net worth Woman charged for making a false 911 call before rapper Young Scooter's death, police say Georgia's neighboring state was trying to hold onto water it said was needed in droughts, while Georgia was requesting increases in water supply for its own cities that were near the Allatoona Project. The Corps considered Georgia's request, and an accompanying proposal for offset, but Alabama pushed for a different decision. Additionally, Alabama officials said that analysis by federal partners had 'failed to conduct any of 'the required legal analysis,'' and Georgia disagreed, continuing the fight. The decision in 2021 to grant Georgia's water supply request was adopted, but the battle in court continued. Alabama motioned for a full, final decision in June 2024. Now that decision has been made, but not in its favor. AliKhan ruled against Alabama's requests for intervention, instead allowing USACE to provide Georgia the supply of water it's been asking for, meaning the nearly 1 million residents and water customers in Cobb County and near Cartersville have their water secured. The office for Gov. Brian Kemp sent the following statement to Channel 2 Action News. 'This ruling brings greater certainty to our state's access to the water supply from Allatoona Lake. The state of Georgia will continue to work with stakeholders and be a good steward of our natural resources as we continue to grow.' Channel 2 Action News has reached out to the Alabama Governor's Office for comment and is waiting for their response. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
EPA spending freeze continues despite court orders
The Trump administration is still freezing many climate and infrastructure grants despite two federal court orders barring it from doing so. Nonprofits and state agencies still lacked access Monday to EPA grant awards funded through the Inflation Reduction Act. Two district court judges have issued orders to reverse such spending freezes — with U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan reinforcing her order Monday. EPA administers several major grant programs under the climate law, including the nearly $5 billion Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program and the $7 billion Solar for All program, which supports community and rooftop solar projects in low-income neighborhoods. The overwhelming majority of those grants were final when former President Joe Biden left office last month, and the Trump EPA has few clear options to pull back funds or repurpose the awards. EPA is not the only agency that has halted payouts from the IRA and the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, said Jillian Blanchard, vice president for climate change and environmental justice with Lawyers for Good Government. She said grant recipients at the Agriculture and Energy departments are also reporting that they can't access funds. 'People cannot get into their accounts. They can't access funding. They're waiting on invoices to be paid. No one will call them back,' she said. EPA program recipients told POLITICO's E&E News on Monday that the inability to access funds was already having an impact after one week. The recipients, granted anonymity to avoid retribution, said they have had to lay out money for expenses, like payroll or rent, without knowing if and when it would be reimbursed. The freeze has also prompted some recipients to pause hiring — and worry about how long they could pay existing staff. The Justice Department in a filing Monday acknowledged AliKhan's order and pledged to inform agencies of it. But it argued that the order 'contains several ambiguous terms and provisions that could be read to constitute significant intrusions on the executive branch's lawful authorities and the separation of powers.' EPA's acting General Counsel Sean Donahue sent an agency 'mass mailer' to all employees before 9 a.m. Monday morning that linked to the temporary restraining order. He promised 'additional EPA-specific guidance on agency financial assistance,' which sources said was not sent as of Monday evening. EPA declined to respond to an inquiry from E&E News about why the funds remained frozen, referring questions to DOJ. EPA did not acknowledge questions about whether the delay was due to a technical difficulty or whether the agency believed it was complying with the court order. DOJ declined to comment. Zealan Hoover, former director of implementation at Biden's EPA, said the Trump administration appeared to be trying to dodge the order. 'I am very concerned that this illegal action will force state and local governments to pause construction, lay off staff and slow their work to provide cleaner air and water,' he said. Blanchard echoed that concern. 'It looks like this executive is considering just completely flouting a court's direct order,' she said.
Politico
04-02-2025
- Business
- Politico
EPA spending freeze continues despite court orders
The Trump administration is still freezing many climate and infrastructure grants despite two federal court orders barring it from doing so. Nonprofits and state agencies still lacked access Monday to EPA grant awards funded through the Inflation Reduction Act. Two district court judges have issued orders to reverse such spending freezes — with U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan reinforcing her order Monday. EPA administers several major grant programs under the climate law, including the nearly $5 billion Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program and the $7 billion Solar for All program, which supports community and rooftop solar projects in low-income neighborhoods. The overwhelming majority of those grants were final when former President Joe Biden left office last month, and the Trump EPA has few clear options to pull back funds or repurpose the awards. EPA is not the only agency that has halted payouts from the IRA and the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, said Jillian Blanchard, vice president for climate change and environmental justice with Lawyers for Good Government. She said grant recipients at the Agriculture and Energy departments are also reporting that they can't access funds. 'People cannot get into their accounts. They can't access funding. They're waiting on invoices to be paid. No one will call them back,' she said. EPA program recipients told POLITICO's E&E News on Monday that the inability to access funds was already having an impact after one week. The recipients, granted anonymity to avoid retribution, said they have had to lay out money for expenses, like payroll or rent, without knowing if and when it would be reimbursed. The freeze has also prompted some recipients to pause hiring — and worry about how long they could pay existing staff. The Justice Department in a filing Monday acknowledged AliKhan's order and pledged to inform agencies of it. But it argued that the order 'contains several ambiguous terms and provisions that could be read to constitute significant intrusions on the executive branch's lawful authorities and the separation of powers.' EPA's acting General Counsel Sean Donahue sent an agency 'mass mailer' to all employees before 9 a.m. Monday morning that linked to the temporary restraining order. He promised 'additional EPA-specific guidance on agency financial assistance,' which sources said was not sent as of Monday evening. EPA declined to respond to an inquiry from E&E News about why the funds remained frozen, referring questions to DOJ. EPA did not acknowledge questions about whether the delay was due to a technical difficulty or whether the agency believed it was complying with the court order. DOJ declined to comment. Zealan Hoover, former director of implementation at Biden's EPA, said the Trump administration appeared to be trying to dodge the order. 'I am very concerned that this illegal action will force state and local governments to pause construction, lay off staff and slow their work to provide cleaner air and water,' he said. Blanchard echoed that concern. 'It looks like this executive is considering just completely flouting a court's direct order,' she said.
