Judge hits Trump admin for refusing to obey restraining order on funding freeze

U.S. District Judge John McConnell issued an order directing the Trump administration to immediately obey a previous restraining order halting a funding freeze for the National Institutes of Health and two Biden-era laws.

In a Friday filing, 22 state attorneys general accused the administration of not obeying McConnell's order to unfreeze federal spending for grants and loans. The White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) claimed that the order did not apply to specific federal programs.

On Monday, McConnell sided with the state attorneys general.

"The broad categorical and sweeping freeze of federal funds is, as the Court found, likely unconstitutional and has caused and continues to cause irreparable harm to a vast portion of this country," McConnell wrote in a five-page order.

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McConnell's order instructed the OMB to "take every step necessary" to restore funding for the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act, the National Institutes of Health, and other agencies covered by the restraining order.