Judge extends restraining order to ban Trump admin buyout offer to federal workers
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Judges Rule Against Trump Administration
Above: The White House Image copyright: Valerie Plesch/Contributor/picture alliance via Getty Images
The Facts
A US judge in Rhode Island on Monday ordered the Trump administration to "immediately restore frozen funding" after he heard arguments from a coalition of 22 US states that the administration hadn't released the funding after the Jan. 31 order to do so.
This comes after a different federal judge in Boston on Monday extended a temporary restraining order that has paused a deadline set by the Trump administration for federal workers to accept a "Fork in the Road" buyout, which was offered in an email from the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) nearly two weeks ago.
Judge John McConnell's ruling in the funding freeze case relates to a Jan. 27 memo sent by the US Office of Business and Management (OBM) shutting down payments for all federal grants, contracts, and financial assistance. The administration rescinded the memo, but McConnell still issued the stay.
The Spin
Republican narrative
These judges are guilty of judicial overreach and their unlawful orders may be worthy of impeachment. The judiciary should not be limiting the president or those in his administration from doing their jobs. Democrats, who strangely support government waste and fraud, can sue all they want, but Trump, Musk, and the rest will continue their efforts to make the government again work for the people.
Democratic narrative
Republicans' desire to install Trump as a king is creating a constitutional crisis, and if Republicans in Congress won't step up as an equal branch of government it's up to the judiciary to do so. The Founding Fathers created judicial review to prevent presidents from becoming tyrants, which Republicans — especially ones with law degrees — should know. It's also up to the people to hold all the branches accountable.