There Is No Constitutional Shortcut to Slashing Spending

On Thursday, a second federal court issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from pausing federal spending. Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of the federal district court in Rhode Island issued his ruling Thursday in a 45-page opinion. He joins Judge Loren L. AliKhan, of the federal district court in Washington, D.C., who issued a similar ruling in a 39-page opinion last week.

Judges McConnell and AliKhan were appointed by Presidents Obama and Biden, respectively. How convenient it would be if we could say: These are progressive Democrats, they were put on the planet to rule against President Trump no matter what he does, and these rulings will get fixed on appeal. There’s no doubt, moreover, that the two judges derived considerable satisfaction from ruling against their party’s archnemesis; there is much in the rulings that conservatives will find grating.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.

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On Thursday, a second federal court issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from pausing federal spending. Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of the federal district court in Rhode Island issued his ruling Thursday in a 45-page opinion. He joins Judge Loren L. AliKhan, of the federal district court in Washington, D.C., who issued a similar ruling in a 39-page opinion last week.

Judges McConnell and AliKhan were appointed by Presidents Obama and Biden, respectively. How convenient it would be if we could say: These are progressive Democrats, they were put on the planet to rule against President Trump no matter what he does, and these rulings will get fixed on appeal. There’s no doubt, moreover, that the two judges derived considerable satisfaction from ruling against their party’s archnemesis; there is much in the rulings that conservatives will find grating.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.