BATTLE OF THE BRANCHES

Judge Refuses to Let Trump Defy Order on Federal Funding Freeze

It is the latest battle between the executive and judicial branches, as the Trump administration continues to push the limits of its power.

A federal judge indicated Monday he won’t sit idly as Donald Trump pushes the limits of his power.

Judge John J. McConnell Jr. called out the Trump administration in an order, alleging the White House disobeyed a judicial mandate last month that required funding that was abruptly frozen by an Office of Management and Budget directive be resorted.

McConnell, of Rhode Island, doubled down on his order from January and demanded the Trump administration must “immediately restore frozen funding.” If not, the judge suggested there may be repercussions.

“Persons who make private determinations of the law and refuse to obey an order generally risk criminal contempt,” he wrote Monday.

Many will remember the funding freeze for the chaos it caused across the country, as funding for key government programs—like Medicaid payment systems—had been put on ice. McConnell ordered the government to restore all funding immediately last month, but nearly two dozen states say they are yet to have all funds return.

McConnell said there was no reason his previous order should have been ignored, writing it was “clear and unambiguous.”

Whether Team Trump will relent on its freeze at the second time of asking remains to be seen. Trump in three weeks has pushed the limits of his office’s power, issuing executive orders that critics say border on being unconstitutional or, in the case of ending birthright citizenship, appear to be clearly unconstitutional.

Moves of this nature are why the Trump administration has seen more than 40 lawsuits filed against it in federal court since Jan. 20—an average that is teetering close to two a day for MAGA 2.0.

Judges’ efforts to check Trump’s power have not sat well with MAGA. Vice President JD Vance, for example, suggested Sunday that it is not within the judicial branch’s powers to ensure the president abides by the constitution or law.

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“If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal,” Vance said. “If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal. Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”

This, as most who have taken a middle school civics class can attest, is not true. The separation of powers between the three branches of government—executive, judicial, and legislative—are key to American democracy and have been for centuries.

Some have expressed fears the U.S. might go into a constitutional crisis if the Trump administration regularly defies court orders. The White House claimed Monday such a situation will not be necessary because all of the president’s executive actions have been constitutional.

“Each executive order will hold up in court because every action of the Trump-Vance administration is completely lawful,” said Harrison Fields, a White House spokesman, in a statement to The New York Times. “Any legal challenge against it is nothing more than an attempt to undermine the will of the American people.”

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Josh FialloBreaking News Reporter

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