A federal judge issued a national order at the national level on Thursday that blocked the Trump administration to freeze federal funds without going through Congress, offering a scathing criticism of what he said was the White House attempt to interrupt the separation of powers.
When President Donald Trump tried to freely freeze billions in federal funds to states, local governments and non -profit organizations during his first week in office, the president illegally tried to undermine the balance of power defined by US governance, said the United States district judge, John McConnell.
President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of the Congress in the Chamber of the Chamber in the United States Capitol in Washington, on March 4, 2025.
Julia DeMaree Nikhinson/AP
“The interaction of the three coeutal branches of the government is an intricate, delicate and sophisticated balance, but it is crucial for our form of constitutional governance. Here, the Executive is put above Congress,” he wrote
The order prohibits the Trump for Administration “to reissue, adopt, implement, give effect or restore with a different name” a short -term directive issued by the administration and budget office that froze billions in funds.
McConnell, a designated Obama, said that his order “is not limiting the discretion of the Executive or Micrognition of the administration of federal funds”, but reiterating the limit of Trump’s power.
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous
