“Nice try!”
King Donald Trump and his jesters believe they can ignore actions taken by various courts across the country. They are sadly mistaken. U.S. District Judge John McConnell has ordered the Trump administration to immediately end the freeze on federal funding. McConnell wants to indefinitely block the freeze but has not yet issued his final order. In the interim, he wants those funds released, especially funds for President Biden’s Inflation and Reduction Act and the Jobs Act, as well as funds for the National Institutes of Health. The Trump administration tried to be slick by saying on social media that the reversal related only to the memo directing the freeze and not freezing of the funds. Judge McConnell basically said, “nice try” and that all funds were to be released, as the freezing was “likely unconstitutional.” Trump’s administration had the nerve to appeal, and the Court of Appeals rejected them outright. Even as the Trump administration wrangled with Judge McConnell, Judge Amy Berman Jackson temporarily block’s Trump’s firing of the head of the Office of the Special Counsel, Hampton Dellinger.
Everyone knew and/or predicted that Donald Trump would return to his unlawful behavior, but he’s taking it to a new extreme. He’s firing people without cause. He must think his presidency is a substitution for the Apprentice. Retired federal judge Nancy Gertner told NPR that there might be serious repercussions for Donald Trump if he continues to ignore Judge McConnell’s order. She said that it is “very unusual” for litigants to ignore a ruling. She went on to say: “Well, the court, a judge, has tools available to him or her,” including finding a party in contempt, fining them, or finally, jailing the person until the order is followed. The problem with these punishments is that Trump is over the DOJ, and he could just demand they don’t comply with an arrest, and Elon Musk can certainly easily pay any imposed fines. In the end, Gertner believes that Trump is merely “power grabbing,” but the question remains whether his attempts are legitimate. The thing that will save these rulings is where the law stands on irreparable harm, and withholding funds is certainly causing that type of harm.
Under the law, parties must show that they have suffered that level of harm, which means that even if the money is paid later, it cannot remove the harm caused by its removal. ProPublica spoke with one who has suffered that type of harm, Jessyca Leach, who runs a health clinic for poor and LGBTQ people. When the freeze hit her clinic, Leach had to lay off people and cut salaries, including her own. When the money did begin to flow again, her money came with a note from payment processing: “Executive Orders regarding potentially unallowable grant payments.” Harming people and their businesses is not why Trump was elected to office, and he seems to be totally okay with that harm. Where this will end, we don’t know, but someone needs to grab a hold of Trump and shake him until he gets it.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years