The Trump Administration Just Violated Another Court Order
A federal judge ruled Friday that the president violated a court order to stop freezing federal funds by withholding Federal Emergency Management Agency relief to at least 19 states. The judge said that the Trump administration seemed to be making a “covert” effort to punish states whose immigration practices differed from the White House.
U.S. District Judge John McConnell issued an injunction in March on behalf of 23 states that sued the federal government after the White House moved to pause aid to states, ruling that the move “fundamentally undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government.”
On Friday, McConnell found that the Trump administration disregarded the court order, with at least 19 states, all of whom with Democratic attorneys general, presenting “undisputed evidence” that they were not receiving FEMA funds already appropriated by Congress.
Oregon, for example, still hasn’t received $120 million in funds meant for winter storms, flooding, landslides, wildfires, and flood mitigation. Hawaii said FEMA has yet to deliver $6 million to rebuild after wildfires devastated Maui in 2023.
For its part, the Trump administration claimed that it was creating a new review process for allocated funding. The states, however, said that they weren’t being given their funds since early February, which McConnell ruled was a clear violation of the order. The judge noted that this appeared to be in accordance with Trump’s executive order barring “sanctuary” states from receiving aid.
This isn’t the first court order that the Trump administration has violated, and it probably won’t be the last. But with a weak Congress, the judiciary is the only check on the president’s power right now, and in this case, millions of Americans struggling to recover from natural disasters are the ones who are suffering. Will there be accountability?