A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled Monday that the Trump administration is violating a court order by continuing to freeze funding for federal programs.
In a strongly worded decision, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr., who is overseeing a lawsuit brought by 22 states and the District of Columbia, ordered the administration to restore and resume the frozen funding immediately.
This ruling presents a significant challenge to recent suggestions that if President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and the Department of Government Efficiency’s leader, Elon Musk, disagree with a judge’s order, they may choose to disregard it. Michel Paradis, a constitutional law professor at Columbia Law School, noted the importance of the ruling.
Over the past few days, Vance wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” while Musk signaled his support for an X user’s suggestion that Trump openly defy court rulings. Meanwhile, Trump stated over the weekend that judges should not have the authority to challenge recent actions by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Commenting on Monday’s court order, Paradis told Business Insider, “That’s some tough language. The judge is not messing around.” He added, “It’s return fire, to the extent that the Trump administration has declared that neither Congress nor the courts are allowed to question his authority.”
McConnell’s order responded to evidence presented by the plaintiff states, which showed that the funding freeze—previously deemed “likely unconstitutional” and causing “irreparable harm”—was still in effect despite the court’s prior ruling.
“The States have presented evidence in this motion that the Defendants in some cases have continued to improperly freeze federal funds and refused to resume disbursement of appropriated federal funds,” McConnell wrote.
The court was presented with descriptions of continued disruptions in funding to the plaintiff states, including allocations from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Health and Human Services. Programs such as Head Start, which provides early childhood education, were among those affected.
“The Defendants must immediately restore frozen funding” while the court continues to consider the states’ claims and the administration’s arguments in favor of the freeze, McConnell’s order stated.
The Trump administration swiftly responded by filing a notice to appeal both the judge’s original January 31 order and Monday’s ruling.
Asked whether the administration would comply with the latest order, a White House spokesperson criticized the legal challenges to Trump’s executive actions.
“Each executive order will hold up in court because every action of the Trump-Vance administration is completely lawful,” said Harrison Fields, the principal White House deputy press secretary.
“Any legal challenge against it is nothing more than an attempt to undermine the will of the American people,” he added, stating that voters had chosen Trump to “restore common-sense policies.”
Paradis suggested that if the court order continues to be ignored, McConnell could find the defendants—including Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent—in contempt of court.
Trump is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. However, Paradis noted that holding a sitting president in contempt presents a “constitutionally complex issue” and remains “a totally open question.”
“There are plenty of people who say that just as you can’t prosecute the president, you can’t hold them in contempt because it creates a separation of powers problem,” he explained.