A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to immediately unfreeze funds, including Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law dollars and those paused by an Office of Management and Budget directive.
U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island said in an order issued Monday that the administration was not complying with a temporary restraining order he issued last month that blocked the freezes.
McConnell wrote that the initial order is “clear and unambiguous” and there are no barriers to the administration’s compliance with it.
The temporary restraining order and the latest order came in a case brought by 22 states and Washington, D.C., challenging the legality of Trump’s executive orders and the memo issued by OMB that directed federal agencies to temporarily halt funding.
Despite the initial order from McConnell, and OMB’s move to rescind the memo, states reported that the administration had still denied access to federal funds.
Keep in mind: This is one of two cases challenging Trump’s funding pauses. The judge in another case, filed by a group of nonprofit organizations, also temporarily blocked the administration’s pause on aid.
SNAP a ‘huge sticking point,’ Cammack says
Florida Rep. Kat Cammack says SNAP work requirements have emerged as a “huge sticking point” in the House GOP struggle to agree on a budget plan. House Ag Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., has raised concerns about imposing work requirements on older Americans.
Cammack, who spoke to Agri-Pulse on the sidelines of the crop insurance industry’s annual meeting in Bonita Springs, Florida, says she’s indifferent on whether Republicans move one reconciliation or two. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., insists that the only way to enact all of President Trump’s policy priorities is to put them all in one bill.
“The conventional wisdom would tell us that we would only have political will to do one, but it seems at this point that the Senate is hell-bent on two. And so, at this point time, I am for whatever gets the priorities across the finish line,” she said.
Keep in mind: The House Freedom Caucus is pushing a two-step approach as well. The group on Monday proposed including $486 billion in spending cuts in a first bill that would fund Trump’s border and military priorities and raise the debt ceiling.
Trump USTR pick: Mexico produce exports will feature in USMCA review
Trump’s nominee for U.S. trade representative says low-priced fruit and vegetable imports from Mexico will be part of discussions to review a regional trade deal.
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., submitted a question for the record following Jamieson Greer’s confirmation hearing last week asking whether the USTR pick would help U.S. farmers being undercut by Mexican imports. Greer pledged to ensure the issue is raised during the 2026 U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement review.
Why it matters: The USMCA, negotiated during Trump’s first term, eliminated barriers for most agricultural trade between U.S. and Mexico. U.S. producers, particularly tomato growers in Florida, have complained that Mexico uses unfair trade advantages in the form of lower labor costs and high levels of government support to undercut American farmers.
Western Democrats urge resumption of wildfire prevention projects
Twelve western Senate Democrats are urging the Bureau of Land Management to resume hazardous fuels reduction projects after hearing reports of stop work orders issued by the agency.
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The fuels reduction projects are meant to combat wildfires under a wildfire crisis strategy adopted in the Biden administration and the lawmakers say in a letter that they “save lives and property, reduce the danger to firefighters, and return our lands to a fire-adapted ecosystem that can better withstand the threat to human life, communities, infrastructure, and property.”
“These stop work orders and funding freezes jeopardize communities that depend on a robust federal response to our wildfire crisis — and also jeopardize small businesses, often in frontier and rural communities, that are contracted to do the work on the ground to reduce hazardous fuels,” the senators say.
Take note: The senators say they worry Forest Service projects will be next.
Dock workers nearing agreement with port employers
The wage scale committee for the International Longshoremen’s Association has unanimously approved a new contract with employers at East and Gulf coast ports. That agreement now needs to be ratified by the organization’s rank-and-file members.
In a release, the union said it would not make specific details of the agreement public. However, ILA President Harold Daggett said in a video Monday that it includes “record-setting” wage increases, “full protection” against automation and full container royalty funds returned to the union. If ratified, it would be in effect until Sept. 30, 2030.
Keep in mind: Port workers had threatened to strike last month before coming to a tentative agreement with USMX, a group representing port employers.
EPA extends comment period on chlorpyrifos
EPA will allow more time for comments on its proposal to revoke most food tolerances for chlorpyrifos, which has been the subject of controversy because of its effects on children.
At high levels, exposures to organophosphate insecticides such as chlorpyrifos “can result in neurological effects such as tremors, fatigue and nausea,” EPA said when it proposed to revoke the tolerances in December. “There is also concern for exposures to pregnant women and children since chlorpyrifos has been associated with neurodevelopmental effects indicating it could impact the normal development of the nervous system during pregnancy or childhood.”
In accordance with an appeals court decision, tolerances for 11 food crops would be maintained — alfalfa, apple, asparagus, tart cherries, citrus, cotton, peach, soybean, strawberry, sugar beets, and spring and summer wheat.
EPA said it would soon publish a notice allowing another 30 days for comment. The original comment period closed Monday.
FDA upgrades doughnut recall
FDA upgraded a recall on about 2 million baked goods, including doughnuts and other pastries sold at Dunkin’, over possible listeria contamination.
Manufacturer FGF Brands, which distributes baked goods in the United States and Canada, initiated the voluntary recall last month. It covers a variety of doughnuts, apple fritters and other pastries produced Dec. 13 or earlier, according to the FDA.
Last week, the recall was upgraded to Class II, which the agency defines as a situation in which exposure to the products could cause temporary or medically reversible health consequences or “where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.”
In a statement, FGF clarified that doughnuts are safe to eat and the recall was a precautionary measure. No doughnuts or food contact surfaces at U.S. facilities ever tested positive for listeria.
Final word
“Everyone is coming to the table because everybody has an ask.” — Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., on the many demands her GOP colleagues are making for a budget reconciliation bill.
