White House officials bristle as courts throttle Trump's agenda
The nation may be edging closer to a constitutional crisis as senior White House officials bristle over a string of court orders stymieing Trump’s agenda.
WASHINGTON — The nation may be edging closer to a constitutional crisis as senior White House officials bristle over a string of court orders stymieing President Donald Trump’s agenda, sparking fears that they may ignore judicial decisions.
A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled Monday that the Trump administration failed to comply with his previous directive temporarily halting a sweeping funding freeze, reminding Trump and his top officials in stark terms that “those who make private determinations of the law and refuse to obey an order generally risk criminal contempt.”
District Judge John McConnell's order follows other legal setbacks that throw into question Trump's plans to shrink and remake the federal government, end birthright citizenship and rein in spending, as he has pledged to do.
At minimum, the rulings suggest that varied Trump initiatives will be delayed, if not blocked altogether, as lawsuits filed by opponents work their way up the rungs of the judicial ladder.
Trump administration officials said they aren’t necessarily surprised; they said they had anticipated that the courts would loom as an impediment.
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