‘Preposterous’: Marco Rubio is in ‘brazen defiance’ of federal court order over funding freeze, motion for contempt claims

Donald Trump and Marco Rubio appear at a campaign rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania on Oct. 29, 2024 (Today/YouTube).

Donald Trump and Marco Rubio appear at a campaign rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania on Oct. 29, 2024 (Today/YouTube).

A pair of nonprofit groups suing the Trump administration over their foreign aid grants being frozen urged a federal judge in Washington, D.C., to hold Marco Rubio and Peter Marocco in civil contempt, accusing the secretary of state and the director of the Office of Foreign Assistance of intentionally defying a court order halting the funding freeze.

“This Court should not brook such brazen defiance of the express terms of its order,” the 17-page motion filed on Wednesday stated.

The nonprofits — AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and Journalism Development Network — earlier this month filed a lawsuit in response to President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20, executive order placing a blanket 90-day pause on federal foreign aid and subsequent dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Plaintiffs argued that the executive order “illegally and unconscionably” halted the work “related to nearly every United States foreign assistance mission” which allegedly exceeds the president’s constitutional authority and violates his duty under the Take Care Clause of the Constitution.

U.S. District Judge Amir Ali last week issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) prohibiting the government from “suspending, pausing or otherwise preventing the obligation or disbursement of appropriated foreign-assistance funds” which had been approved before Trump took office last month. The defendants were instructed to “take all steps necessary to effectuate” the order. Ali clarified that his ruling did not prohibit the administration from “enforcing the terms of” existing contracts or grants.

In accordance with the court’s order, Justice Department attorneys on Tuesday filed a status report claiming that the State Department and USAID had performed an analysis of thousands of contracts and grants.

You May Also Like

The Anatomy of a Serial Killer: Psychology, Profiling, Prevention

This three-part podcast series explores how serial killers develop and how to…

Palm Coast’s Arbor Day Celebration Marks 20 Years on May 3

Palm Coast’s Arbor Day Celebration Marks 20 Years on May 3 |…

3 siblings tied up and starved 18-year-old brother to death, then let his body ‘swell and smell’ for days before reporting it, police say

Background: The home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where Ezekiel Baseme was found…

‘Egregiously unqualified political hack’: Former US attorneys eviscerate Ed Martin — with over 100 voicing opposition to Trump’s selection of him as DC’s top prosecutor

FILE – Ed Martin speaks at an event hosted by Rep. Matt…