A Different Judge Plans to Halt Trump’s Spending Freeze, Despite White House Efforts to Rectify
U.S. District Judge John McConnell indicated that comments from the White House have weakened its efforts to retract the memo that imposed the spending freeze.
TroibNews 
A federal judge indicated on Wednesday his plan to impose a new block on President Donald Trump’s attempt to halt a significant portion of federal spending, pointing to the conflicting messages from the White House regarding the policy.
U.S. District Judge John McConnell expressed concern during a court hearing about the White House's move to revoke a “hugely ambiguous” order that implemented the freeze, noting that this action seemed undermined by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt's later comment affirming that the freeze was still in place.
“I’m inclined to grant the restraining order,” stated McConnell, who is based in Rhode Island and was appointed by President Barack Obama. “I fear … that the administration is acting with a distinction without a difference.”
Another federal judge had already suspended the spending freeze. Judge Loren AliKhan issued a temporary order on Tuesday, maintaining the status quo for six days in response to a separate lawsuit from nonprofit organizations challenging the freeze.
In an effort to challenge both lawsuits, the White House on Wednesday rescinded the initial memo from the Trump administration’s budget office that put the spending freeze into effect. However, Leavitt's statements indicated that the freeze remained active, even in the absence of the memo. This confusion led the judge to conclude that the harm originating from the initial memo was still probable.
“While the piece of paper may not exist, there’s sufficient evidence that the defendants collectively are acting consistent with that directive,” McConnell elaborated, “and therefore the arguments that they have about needing a [restraining order] exist.”
Despite this, McConnell acknowledged that the administration's actions on Wednesday might complicate his ability to block the policy. He requested the states to provide proposed language for an order.
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
U.S. District Judge John McConnell expressed concern during a court hearing about the White House's move to revoke a “hugely ambiguous” order that implemented the freeze, noting that this action seemed undermined by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt's later comment affirming that the freeze was still in place.
“I’m inclined to grant the restraining order,” stated McConnell, who is based in Rhode Island and was appointed by President Barack Obama. “I fear … that the administration is acting with a distinction without a difference.”
Another federal judge had already suspended the spending freeze. Judge Loren AliKhan issued a temporary order on Tuesday, maintaining the status quo for six days in response to a separate lawsuit from nonprofit organizations challenging the freeze.
In an effort to challenge both lawsuits, the White House on Wednesday rescinded the initial memo from the Trump administration’s budget office that put the spending freeze into effect. However, Leavitt's statements indicated that the freeze remained active, even in the absence of the memo. This confusion led the judge to conclude that the harm originating from the initial memo was still probable.
“While the piece of paper may not exist, there’s sufficient evidence that the defendants collectively are acting consistent with that directive,” McConnell elaborated, “and therefore the arguments that they have about needing a [restraining order] exist.”
Despite this, McConnell acknowledged that the administration's actions on Wednesday might complicate his ability to block the policy. He requested the states to provide proposed language for an order.
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
