The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied an appeal by the Trump administration to pause an order by a Rhode Island federal judge which ruled that the administration can’t freeze government spending for thousands of federal programs that are under review.
A three-judge appellate panel ruled for U.S. District Judge John McConnell to quickly clarify the concerns the administration had raised. The 1st Circuit also asked the administration to file additional documents by the end of Feb. 13 to further make their case that Judge McConnell overreached his authority.
In an appeal lodged by the Justice Department on Monday, the executive branch argued that the judge’s order bars the president from exercising his lawful authority….