Federal judge immediately slaps down Trump admin effort to pause case about funding cuts in light of government shutdown

Source: Law & Crime

Oct 2nd, 2025, 4:02 pm


A federal judge on Thursday nixed a Trump administration request to pause proceedings in a case over government spending freezes – an effort staked to the ongoing government shutdown.

In the underlying case, Rhode Island leads a coalition of state plaintiffs against efforts to defund and "gut" the operations of three agencies who oversee library, business development, and mediation services, according to the 58-page complaint filed earlier this year.

"The States rely on [the three agencies] to support their public libraries and museums, assist state entities in extending contracting opportunities to disadvantaged individuals, and prevent and resolve public-sector labor disputes involving State entities," the lawsuit reads. "The sudden halting of the agencies' work after decades of close cooperation will immediately put at risk hundreds of millions of dollars in grant funding on which the States depend, and undermine library programs, economic opportunity, and the free flow of commerce throughout the country."

In May, Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., a Barack Obama appointee, issued a preliminary injunction barring the Trump administration from moving forward with the proposed funding cuts, directing agency officials to rehire key staff and contractors, ordering the disbursement of already-appropriated grants, and to file regular status reports detailing their compliance with the court's order. Since then, various efforts to mute the effect of the court's injunction have been essayed by Department of Justice attorneys – and each attempt has, in succession, failed.

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