The Trump administration will again ask an appellate court to intervene in the ongoing legal battle with Democratic attorneys general, including Rhode Island’s Peter Neronha, over a federal funding freeze.
The notice of appeal filed Monday by Daniel Schwei, the U.S. Department of Justice attorney representing President Donald Trump and federal cabinet members, marks the administration’s latest attempt to bypass a court order mandating the continued flow of federal grants and aid.
Chief Judge John McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island first ordered federal agencies to free up frozen federal funds on Jan. 31 in the wake of a string of White House orders seeking to pause federal reimbursements already appropriated to state governments, research and academic institutions, and nonprofits, among other recipients. McConnell doubled down on the initial temporary restraining order in a second ruling on March 6, preventing dozens of federal cabinet directors named in the lawsuit from following through on any previous or future executive orders freezing congressionally mandated reimbursements until the case hearings are completed.
The three-page notice of appeal, filed with the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, does not offer any explanation. The appeal itself has not been filed as of Tuesday morning.
McConnell’s 45-page ruling had rebuked the executive branch for “putting itself above Congress,” violating a host of constitutional provisions around the separation of powers and spending rules.
In oral arguments to McConnell during a hearing in Providence last month, Schwei described the AGs’ requested court order as overly broad and too vague, while insisting that the majority of federal funding under a pause had already been reinstated. However, court documents filed by the AGs suggest that federal funding for key state disaster relief, social service, infrastructure and energy programs remains inaccessible.
In Rhode Island, that has included $125 million for energy efficiency and renewable energy rebate and credit programs, which the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources was still unable to tap into as of mid-February. Robert Beadle, a spokesperson for the agency, did not immediately respond to requests regarding the status of federal funding Tuesday.
Meanwhile, a duo of grants authorized by Congress in 2024 to help pay for the replacement of the westbound Washington Bridge remain in limbo, despite inquiries by Gov. Dan McKee and the state’s four-member congressional delegation seeking confirmation of the $220 million in funding.
The Boston appellate court has already denied an initial challenge by the Trump administration to McConnell’s temporary restraining order filed last month.
Tim Rondeau, a spokesperson for Neronha’s office, declined to comment on the appeal.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
