A federal judge in Rhode Island has stopped President Donald Trump’s plan to freeze domestic federal funds.
U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. issued a ruling preventing the Trump administration from withholding federal funds. He found that the executive branch did not have the constitutional power to freeze funds that Congress had approved.
“The Executive’s categorical freeze of appropriated and obligated funds fundamentally undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government,” the judge wrote. “The interaction of the three co-equal branches of government is an intricate, delicate, and sophisticated balance — but it is crucial to our form of constitutional governance.”
“Here, the Executive put itself above Congress,” McConnell continued. “It imposed a categorical mandate on the spending of congressionally appropriated and obligated funds without regard to Congress’s authority to control spending. Federal agencies and departments can spend, award, or suspend money based only on the power Congress has given to them – they have no other spending power. The Executive has not pointed to any constitutional or statutory authority that would allow them to impose this type of categorical freeze.”
The judge issued this ruling in response to a lawsuit filed by nearly two dozen Democratic states. The lawsuit challenged the Trump administration’s decision to pause federal spending, which caused confusion and disruption. The White House had claimed the freeze was necessary to ensure that the payments aligned with the president’s priorities.
“The Court is not limiting the Executive’s discretion or micromanaging the administration of federal funds,” the judge explained. “Rather, consistent with the Constitution, statutes, and caselaw, the Court is simply holding that the Executive’s discretion to impose its own policy preferences on appropriated funds can be exercised only if it is authorized by the congressionally approved appropriations statutes.”
