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Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge targeted by GOP for impeachment deals blow to Trump's FEMA objectives
A Rhode Island federal judge targeted for impeachment dealt the Trump administration a legal blow on Friday, ordering it to lift a freeze on federal funds. U.S. District Judge John McConnell ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to unfreeze federal funds to states after plaintiffs alleged the agency had failed to comply with an earlier court order. The lawsuit was originally launched by 22 states and the District of Columbia, challenging the Trump administration's decision to block funding for programs like the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grant and other environmental initiatives. Lawsuit Tracker: New Resistance Battling Trump's Second Term Through Onslaught Of Lawsuits Taking Aim At Eos Plaintiffs in the suit, including the states of New York, California, Illinois and Rhode Island, argued that FEMA's implementation of a manual review process for payment requests violated a previous preliminary injunction issued by McConnell. The states argued that the review "constitutes 'a categorical pause or freeze of funding appropriate by Congress.'" The defendants, which include President Donald Trump and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), responded that the review did not violate the order because "FEMA is relying on its own independent authorities to implement the process rather than the OMB Directive." Read On The Fox News App McConnell concluded that the plaintiffs had "presented evidence that strongly suggests that FEMA is implementing this manual review process based, covertly, on the President's January 20, 2025 executive order." Courtroom Combat: Inside The Federal Judiciary System Where Trump's Agenda Is Under Assault "The Court reaffirms its preliminary injunction order," McConnell wrote. McConnell had issued a restraining order in late January that enjoined the defendants from freezing federal funds. This came after OMB released a memo on Jan. 27 announcing the administration's plans to temporarily pause federal grants and loans. The White House later rescinded the memo on Jan. 29. However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the move didn't equate a "recission of the federal funding freeze." 'Corrupt, Dangerous': Gop Rep Moves To Impeach Judge Who Blocked Trump Federal Funds Freeze After McConnell ordered the administration to comply with the restraining order, the government appealed to the First Circuit — which refused to stay the orders. McConnell also recently made headlines after becoming one of several federal judges hit with impeachment articles. Georgia Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde formally introduced his articles of impeachment against McConnell on March 24, after his initial announcement in February. The articles, first shared with Fox News Digital, charged McConnell with abuse of power and conflicts of interest, stating he "knowingly politicized and weaponized his judicial position to advance his own political views and beliefs." "The American people overwhelmingly voted for President Trump in November, providing a clear mandate to make our federal government more efficient," Clyde told Fox News Digital. "Yet Judge McConnell, who stands to benefit from his own injunction, is attempting to unilaterally obstruct the president's agenda and defy the will of the American people. Judge McConnell's actions are corrupt, dangerous, and worthy of impeachment." Fox News Digital's Diana Stancy contributed to this article source: Judge targeted by GOP for impeachment deals blow to Trump's FEMA objectives
Fox News
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Judge targeted by GOP for impeachment deals blow to Trump's FEMA objectives
A Rhode Island federal judge targeted for impeachment dealt the Trump administration a legal blow on Friday, ordering it to lift a freeze on federal funds. U.S. District Judge John McConnell ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to unfreeze federal funds to states after plaintiffs alleged the agency had failed to comply with an earlier court order. The lawsuit was originally launched by 22 states and the District of Columbia, challenging the Trump administration's decision to block funding for programs like the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grant and other environmental initiatives. Plaintiffs in the suit, including the states of New York, California, Illinois and Rhode Island, argued that FEMA's implementation of a manual review process for payment requests violated a previous preliminary injunction issued by McConnell. The states argued that the review "constitutes 'a categorical pause or freeze of funding appropriate by Congress.'" The defendants, which include President Donald Trump and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), responded that the review did not violate the order because "FEMA is relying on its own independent authorities to implement the process rather than the OMB Directive." McConnell concluded that the plaintiffs had "presented evidence that strongly suggests that FEMA is implementing this manual review process based, covertly, on the President's January 20, 2025 executive order." "The Court reaffirms its preliminary injunction order," McConnell wrote. McConnell had issued a restraining order in late January that enjoined the defendants from freezing federal funds. This came after OMB released a memo on Jan. 27 announcing the administration's plans to temporarily pause federal grants and loans. The White House later rescinded the memo on Jan. 29. However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the move didn't equate a "recission of the federal funding freeze." After McConnell ordered the administration to comply with the restraining order, the government appealed to the First Circuit — which refused to stay the orders. McConnell also recently made headlines after becoming one of several federal judges hit with impeachment articles. Georgia Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde formally introduced his articles of impeachment against McConnell on March 24, after his initial announcement in February. The articles, first shared with Fox News Digital, charged McConnell with abuse of power and conflicts of interest, stating he "knowingly politicized and weaponized his judicial position to advance his own political views and beliefs." "The American people overwhelmingly voted for President Trump in November, providing a clear mandate to make our federal government more efficient," Clyde told Fox News Digital. "Yet Judge McConnell, who stands to benefit from his own injunction, is attempting to unilaterally obstruct the president's agenda and defy the will of the American people. Judge McConnell's actions are corrupt, dangerous, and worthy of impeachment."
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge finds FEMA withholding grants in violation of court order
A federal judge Friday ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to disburse millions of dollars of grants to Democratic-led states, finding the administration's withholding of the funds breached his previous ruling. 'FEMA's manual review process violates the Court's preliminary injunction order,' U.S. District Judge John McConnell wrote. McConnell, an appointee of former President Obama, has blocked the administration from implementing an across-the-board freeze on federal grants as the states' lawsuit proceeds and has now twice found the administration wasn't in compliance. The case began with an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo directing the sweeping freeze. Even though it has since been rescinded, the judge's order prevents the administration from implementing it under any other name. Late last month, the attorneys general from Washington, D.C., and 22 states returned to McConnell over concerns that FEMA was instituting a grant review process in violation of his order. The states said they were waiting on a combined tens of millions of dollars in disbursements. The Justice Department pushed back, insisting to the judge that FEMA was in compliance. 'FEMA's manual review process has nothing to do with the OMB Directive, and is expressly not a pause or freeze on funding — it is instead a change to the manner in which FEMA processes and approves payment requests,' the department wrote in court filings. 'FEMA intends to make appropriate payments under the relevant grants, which forecloses Plaintiffs' allegations of a continued 'pause' or 'freeze.'' McConnell disagreed, saying the review 'essentially imposes an indefinite categorical pause on payments.' He went on to find the review is 'covertly' an attempt by the administration to implement President Trump's executive order that aims to ensure so-called sanctuary cities don't receive federal funds. The Hill has reached out to FEMA for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
04-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Judge finds FEMA withholding grants in violation of court order
A federal judge Friday ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to disburse millions of dollars of grants to Democratic-led states, finding the administration's withholding of the funds breached his previous ruling. 'FEMA's manual review process violates the Court's preliminary injunction order,' wrote U.S. District Judge John McConnell. McConnell, an appointee of former President Obama, has blocked the administration from implementing an across-the-board freeze on federal grants as the states' lawsuit proceeds and has now twice found the administration wasn't in compliance. The case began with an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo directing the sweeping freeze. Even though it has since been rescinded, the judge's order prevents the administration from implementing it under any other name. Late last month, the attorneys general from Washington, D.C., and 22 states returned to McConnell over concerns that FEMA was instituting a grant review process in violation of his order. The states said they were waiting on a combined tens of millions of dollars in disbursements. The Justice Department pushed back, insisting to the judge that FEMA was in compliance. 'FEMA's manual review process has nothing to do with the OMB Directive, and is expressly not a pause or freeze on funding — it is instead a change to the manner in which FEMA processes and approves payment requests,' the department wrote in court filings. 'FEMA intends to make appropriate payments under the relevant grants, which forecloses Plaintiffs' allegations of a continued 'pause' or 'freeze.'' McConnell disagreed, saying the review 'essentially imposes an indefinite categorical pause on payments.' He went on to find the review is 'covertly' an attempt by the administration to implement President Trump's executive order that aims to ensure so-called 'sanctuary cities' don't receive federal funds.
CBS News
10-02-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Judge directs Trump officials to comply with earlier order halting funding freeze
Washington — A federal judge in Rhode Island said Monday that the Trump administration has not complied with an earlier order that blocked its freeze on federal assistance and ordered agencies to immediately restore any paused or withheld dollars during continuing legal proceedings. The move from U.S. District Judge John McConnell comes in a case brought by a group of 22 states and the District of Columbia challenging the legality of a memo based on President Trump's executive orders and issued by the Office of Management and Budget last month, which directed federal agencies to temporarily pause grants, loans or federal assistance programs. While the budget office rescinded the memo, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said only its directive was being unwound and the broader funding freeze would remain in effect. McConnell, who is overseeing the case involving the states, issued a temporary restraining order late last month that forbade the Trump administration from stopping federal dollars from flowing to states, nonprofits and other entities that had been receiving assistance. But last week, the states told the judge in a filing that the Trump administration was not complying with that order because they continued to be denied access to federal funds. The states said that the Trump administration viewed assistance authorized through the Inflation Reduction Act and bipartisan infrastructure law — both of which were enacted under the Biden administration — as outside the scope of McConnell's order and therefore still subject to the funding freeze. Several grants funded by the two laws and awarded to states and local governments remained inaccessible in the federal payments portal, they said. In other instances, Head Start programs in Michigan and Vermont were not able to access federal funds from the Department of Education, as of Feb. 5, and the National Institutes of Health canceled a review meeting with Brown University's School of Public Health for a $71 million grant for dementia care research, the states said. McConnell agreed to demand the Trump administration restore the still-frozen funds, noting that the order he entered "prohibits all categorical pauses or freezes in obligations or disbursements based on the OMB Directive or based on the president's 2025 Executive Orders." The judge reiterated his finding that the pause on federal assistance is likely unconstitutional and has caused harm to "a vast portion of this country." "These pauses in funding violate the plain text of the [temporary restraining order]," McConnell wrote. Under his most recent order, the Trump administration must immediately restore frozen funding while his temporary restraining order is in effect and end any federal funding pause. The judge directed the Trump administration "immediately take every necessary step" to comply with his temporary restraining order, including clearing administrative or technical obstacles, McConnell wrote, and restore withheld assistance, including federal dollars appropriated in the Inflation Reduction Act and infrastructure law. He ordered the Trump administration to resume funding of institutes or other federal agencies covered by his restraining order. The case before McConnell is one of two brought in response to the White House budget office's memo freezing federal assistance. A second court fight, brought by a coalition of nonprofit organizations, is underway in Washington, D.C. The judge in that case also temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing the pause on government aid.
