A federal judge in Rhode Island extended a block on president Donald Trump's domestic funding freeze.
U.S. District judge John J. McConnell Jr. granted a preliminary injunction preventing the Trump administration from impounding federal funds based on a directive by the Office of Management and Budget, finding that the executive branch lacked the constitutional authority to freeze congressionally authorized funding.
"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."
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"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."
McConnell granted the preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed by nearly two dozen Democratic states after the administration set off chaos and confusion by ordering a sweeping pause on federal spending, which the White House said was necessary to make sure the payments complied with the president's agenda.
"The Court is not limiting the Executive’s discretion or micromanaging the administration of federal funds," the judge wrote. "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."