The federal appeals court on Tuesday refused to temporarily block a lower court order directing the Trump administration to freeze federal grants.
The U.S. Court of Appeals in the First Circuit has already requested a suspension from the lower court judge John McConnell, the US District Judge who issued the order, but the appeal is ongoing. and pointed out that the judge has not yet ruled.
However, they refused to do so, even if they had assumed that the Court of Appeal had jurisdiction to issue a stay.
“The defendant will not cite any authority to uphold the administrative stay request or identify any harm related to a specific funding action or litigation facing without the requested administrative stay,” the panel wrote.
“In these circumstances, we assume we have jurisdiction and deny any claims of administrative stay without bias,” he wrote.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) sued a key order by McConnell on Monday, blocking an order to suspend payments for the first White House Budget Office grant, and the second would follow the government's first order, “quickly.” I've told them to finish the funds.
The appeal marked the appeal of the second DOJ in a lawsuit that challenges the Trump administration's major actions.
In a memo last month, the Administration directed federal agencies to stop paying grants, and the administration assessed spending to ensure alignment with President Trump's agenda.
The memo was later retracted, but White House spokesman Karoline Leavitt claimed on social media that the withdrawal would not affect the entire freeze. McConnell claimed that the reversal was “name only” and cited her post as “the substantial effect of the command continues.”
On Monday, the judge issued a second ruling that found the Trump administration failed to comply with his first order. He ordered the administration to “quickly” suspend federal funds until the lawsuit was underway, deciding whether to block the freeze indefinitely.
The funding freeze was challenged by a coalition of 22 states in Democratic Attorney General and Washington, D.C., led by New York Attorney General Leticia James (D.).
