President Donald Trump faced five legal blows on Monday.
In one case, a judge ruled that the fired head of the federal agency dedicated to protecting whistleblowers must be reinstated, while in another, a judge ordered the Trump administration to fully halt plans for a freeze on federal funding.
Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Trump began his second administration with a flurry of policy actions to redirect the U.S. government, signing executive orders that cover issues such as immigration, foreign aid and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
His administration is also working to dismantle government agencies and eliminate large swaths of the federal workforce. However, Trump’s agenda has faced legal challenges and growing pushback from the courts, prompting top administration officials to question the judiciary’s authority to serve as a check on executive power.
President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., on February 10. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., on February 10. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
What To Know
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson issued an order hours after Hampton Dellinger sued Trump over his removal as the leader of the Office of Special Counsel.
The judge said Dellinger must be allowed to serve as special counsel through midnight on Thursday while she considered his request for a temporary restraining order to keep him in the job.
Meanwhile, U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell Jr. found that the Trump administration hadn’t fully complied with his order to unfreeze federal spending. He ordered the administration to “immediately take every step necessary” to follow his temporary restraining order halting plans for a freeze of federal funding. The Trump administration is appealing the ruling.
In another case, U.S. District Judge Joseph N. Laplante became the third federal judge to block Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for the children of people who are in the U.S. illegally.
Laplante said he was not persuaded by the administration’s defense of the order and would issue a longer preliminary injunction explaining his reasoning later, the Associated Press reported.
Elsewhere, U.S. District Judge George O’Toole Jr. said he would keep in place an order blocking an effort to push out federal workers. O’Toole paused the deferred resignation program last week. On Monday, he said the stay would remain in place until he issued a ruling after multiple workers’ unions sued over the plan.
Another federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to make billions of dollars in cuts to funding for health research grants. U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley’s decision came after Democratic attorneys general from 22 states sued to stop the cuts.
What People Are Saying
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previously told Newsweek: “The Executive Orders issued by the President on funding reviews remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented by all agencies and departments.”
Vice President JD Vancewrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday: “If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal. Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”
What Happens Next
Legal challenges to Trump’s orders are continuing to make their way through the courts.
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