Trump administration faces triple legal setback in federal court
Federal judges ruled against Donald Trump's administration in three cases on the same day. One decision concerns halting the execution of an executive order that suspended the admission of refugees to the United States and limited funding for their resettlement programs.
A federal judge stopped executing President Trump's order, which was signed on the first day after his return to office. The order suspended the admission of refugees indefinitely and blocked the funding of agencies involved in resettling refugees.
The president's actions effectively override Congress's will regarding the refugee admission program. Although the president has broad authority to suspend the admission of refugees, this power is not unlimited, as the judge stated in the justification.
Organizations dealing with refugee rights and several individual refugees affected by this order brought the case to court. The Department of Justice defended the president's administration's decision, arguing that it was necessary to "protect the interests of the United States."
Will the court unblock foreign aid?
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to pay funds owed to government contractors and non-profit organizations by Wednesday evening Eastern Time. The case pertains to frozen USAID and State Department funds.
During the hearing, a lawyer for the Department of Justice could not provide any examples of unfreezing foreign aid by the previous decision from February 13 nor specify what actions the administration has taken to restore these funds.
A federal judge in Washington indefinitely blocked the administration's ability to freeze federal grants and loans. He described this action as "irrational" and "thoughtless" and ruled that the funding freeze was likely illegal. District Judge Loren AliKhan had previously issued a temporary injunction halting this decision just before it came into effect, but the government failed to appeal it.
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