Courts and Trump

Newsweek- A judge in Boston, Massachusetts, on Monday ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore grants for teacher preparation in eight states.  The Department of Education had canceled the grants as part of Trump's plan to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Judge Myong Joun granted a temporary restraining order requested by Massachusetts, California and six other Democratic-leaning states. The grants, given through two federal programs, are designed to support training teachers. The eight states argued the Department of Education did not have the authority to cancel the grants after already issuing them following Congress authorization.

Joun said that, unless the Department of Education plan is changed, "dozens of programs upon which public schools, public universities, students, teachers, and faculty rely will be gutted."

NY Times - A federal judge barred the Trump administration on Monday from “unlawfully impounding congressionally appropriated foreign aid funds” that the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development owed to grant recipients and contractors, requiring it to pay for work completed in the first several weeks of President Trump’s term.

The ruling, handed down by Judge Amir H. Ali of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, was the latest step in a winding dispute over foreign aid payments since Mr. Trump has tried to vastly shrink the nation’s foreign assistance. While forcing the administration to pay for work completed before Feb. 13, Judge Ali said the limits of the case prevented him from ordering payments on future work or restoring canceled contracts. 

Politico - A federal judge ruled Monday that DOGE's "unusual secrecy" and immense power justified the urgent release of records under the Freedom of Information Act. |A federal judge has ruled that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is wielding so much power that its records will likely have to be opened to the public under federal law.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said the vast and “unprecedented” authority of DOGE, formally known as the U.S. Digital Service, combined with its “unusual secrecy” warrant the urgent release of its internal documents under the Freedom of Information Act.

“The authority exercised by USDS across the federal government and the dramatic cuts it has apparently made with no congressional input appear to be unprecedented,” Cooper wrote in a 37-page opinion.

The Guardian - A man pardoned by Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 insurrection who also was convicted of plotting to kill federal agents investigating him is still legally liable for the plot, a judge ruled on Monday.