Judge’s Failure To Recuse Himself From Trump Spending Freeze Case Shows How Court Is Rigged
Judge John McConnell, chief judge of the federal district court of Rhode Island, has such a deep conflict of interest in one of the Trump Administration’s spending freeze cases that it is obvious he should have recused himself. His continued involvement in the case is another sign that the court system is rigged, leaving the majority of U.S. citizens who voted for President Donald Trump’s policies watching lawfare instead of seeing progress.
When the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) told federal department heads in January to place a temporary pause on grant, loan, and other financial assistance programs, the left rushed to court to fight it. The OMB wanted to assure taxpayer money was not going to support programs promoting diversity equity and inclusion (DEI), woke gender ideology, and the Green New Deal.
In this case, a group of 22 states and the District of Columbia went to court calling the administration’s freeze on federal funding unconstitutional. McConnell ordered the administration to unfreeze the funds and the administration is now appealing. A similar case, brought by the National Council of Nonprofits is playing out with U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan in the Washington, D.C. court. You can read about that case here.
The spending freeze affected federally funded nonprofits which may get their money directly from the federal government, from state programs that receive federal funds and pass the money on to nonprofits, or from other nonprofits that get money from the feds and hand it out as local grants.
McConnell has held an 18-year leadership role in Crossroads Rhode Island, a $31 million nonprofit that gets over half its funding from federal money. It received more than $18 million in 2023 according to its tax exempt 990 form, first reported by researchers at America First Legal (AFL).
/4 And, for much of that time, he served as Chair of the Board, a position he held from 2011 through 2021.
Prior to serving as Chair, he was the Vice Chair in 2009 and 2010 and a board member from 2006 to 2008. pic.twitter.com/rDjsWaJlY8
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) February 16, 2025
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Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr
