Washington - Saba:
A federal court on Tuesday rejected the Trump administration's request to lift a lower court order that had blocked the president from freezing billions of dollars in loans, grants and financial aid.
Three weeks into Trump's presidency, the decision marks the first time a federal appeals court has taken up a challenge by the Trump administration, with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declining to grant the president’s request.
The decision came nearly as Trump said he would "always obey the orders of the courts."
In a two-page order, a three-judge panel of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals denied Trump's request for an administrative stay of the lower court’s order temporarily blocking the funding freeze, and remanded the matter to the district court to clarify its earlier order.
"We are confident that the district court will act expeditiously to provide any necessary clarifications regarding, among other things, defendants’ claim that the February 10 order ‘prevents both the President and much of the federal government from exercising their statutory authority to withhold funding without prior approval of the district court,'" the judges said in the order.
The justices noted in their decision that the Justice Department’s lawyers "have not cited any authority to support their request for an administrative stay" and did not explain how they were affected by the lower court’s order.
"This Circuit has not addressed the question of whether or when an administrative stay of the kind sought here can be issued, and there is recognized uncertainty about the criteria that guide the decision to issue one," the justices added.
According to the order, the court will consider issuing a temporary stay on appeal later this week.
The Trump administration had requested an immediate administrative stay, which was denied, as well as a temporary stay on appeal by Friday.
The decision comes after the Trump administration reignited a legal battle over whether it can unilaterally freeze funding.
Justice Department lawyers had asked the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston to block a ruling by a federal judge in Rhode Island that found the Trump administration likely violated the Constitution when it tried to withhold trillions of dollars in federal funding through a previously vacated directive from the Office of Management and Budget.
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