Judge says White House defying order to spend funds

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A federal judge in Rhode Island said Monday that the White House was not complying with his order to release billions in congressionally approved federal grants that President Donald Trump froze in a controversial executive order.

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U.S. District Judge John McConnell said the Trump administration's ongoing and "likely unconstitutional" pauses in funding "violate the plain text" of his Jan. 31 restraining order, and he ordered the White House to "immediately take every step necessary to effectuate" the "clear and unambiguous" directive.

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McConnell's order was "essentially a nudge," the Times said, and the next step could be ordering administration officials to explain why they weren't in contempt of court, followed by fines or, theoretically, imprisonment. The Justice Department appealed the decision to the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals.

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