A federal judge in Rhode Island has ruled that the White House failed to comply with his order to unfreeze billions of dollars in federal grants, marking the first time a judge has explicitly stated that the Trump administration is disobeying a judicial mandate. The ruling by Judge John J. McConnell Jr. ordered the administration officials to comply with an earlier order issued on January 29, which demanded compliance.
The Trump administration had appealed the initial order and asked for a pause in the enforcement of the court’s decision while their case was being considered. However, Judge McConnell explicitly rejected this request and granted the attorneys general’s motion to enforce the original order.
The judge made clear that White House officials were obligated to comply regardless of how they thought the case might conclude, citing a 1975 Supreme Court case that noted persons who make private determinations of the law and refuse to obey an order risk criminal contempt.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/us/trump-unfreezing-federal-grants-judge-ruling.html