Judges vs. Trump: Courts Checking White House Plan To Overhaul Government
Plus: Shoppers face limits on egg purchases and the end of pennies
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🚨 ONE THING WE ARE WATCHING
Judge Says Trump Administration Defied Order On Funding Freeze
A federal judge on Monday ruled that the Trump administration violated a January 31 order to "immediately restore" billions of dollars in frozen funding. It is the first time in the second Trump administration that a federal judge has accused the White House of defying a court order.
🚨Trump vs. the courts: Hours before, two other federal courts had moved to temporarily block some of Trump’s orders related to sending detained Venezuelan immigrants to Guantánamo Bay and ending birthright citizenship. Then, on Monday evening, yet another federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from cutting health research grants.
In recent days, judges also paused Trump’s plan to offer buyouts to nearly all federal workers, fire nearly everyone at USAID, and transfer trans women prisoners back to male prisons.
Vice President JD Vance is sticking behind his boss, even suggesting that there are times when presidents should not follow court rulings.
TRUMP VS. JUDGE’S ORDER
U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island issued a restraining order that blocked a directive from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The department had initially instructed federal agencies to pause funding, while the administration assessed government spending.
The judge said that the withheld funds that must be restored include those appropriated under the last Congress. On Friday, 22 Democratic attorneys general accused the White House of failing to comply. In response, the Justice Department argued in a Sunday filing that it was making a good-faith effort to follow the judges order.
The judge didn’t buy that argument and said the administration violated his ruling.
“Are there some aspects of the pause that might be legal and appropriate constitutionally for the Executive to take? The Court imagines there are, but it is equally sure that there are many instances in the Executive Orders’ wide-ranging, all-encompassing, and ambiguous ‘pause’ of critical funding that are not,” the ruling said.
This case is one of more than 45 lawsuits filed against the Trump administration in its first three weeks.
MORE FROM WASHINGTON
📌 Justice Department to drop federal corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams (CNN)
📌 Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick for top intelligence official, clears key Senate hurdle (NBC)
📌 Defense Secretary Hegseth orders immediate pause on gender-affirming medical care for transgender service members (ABC)
📌 Trump suggests “all hell should break loose” and ceasefire deal should be canceled if Hamas doesn’t release all hostages by Saturday (PBS)
🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING
Not So Eggcellent: Costco, Trader Joe’s Limiting Egg Purchases Amid Shortage
A national egg shortage caused by avian flu has led stores like Costco and Trader Joe’s to limit egg purchases per customer. Trader Joe’s is restricting customers to one dozen eggs per day at its 600 U.S. locations, while Costco customers can purchase up to three packages of eggs (sold in two- or four-dozen cartons).
A Numerator survey found that more than half of U.S. shoppers have noticed egg shortages in stores across the country. BJ's, Costco, Target, Trader Joe's, and Publix are some of the most impacted stores.
A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
Wholesale egg prices for grocery stores and restaurants averaged around $8 a dozen on Friday — a record level that is nearly 1.5x the previous all-time high. That’s why you might see higher prices on restaurant bills, too.
To prevent the spread of bird flu, 40 million egg-laying birds were killed last year — 13% of the national total. Farmers are required to kill their entire flock if one bird is infected.
Chicken prices have not risen as sharply because birds raised for meat and eggs are different.
MORE HEALTH NEWS
📌 New strain of bird flu is detected in a Nevada dairy worker, CDC says (NBC)
📌 Flu is surging nationwide, with 24 million cases so far (CBS)
🚨 ONE INTERESTING THING
Trump Directs U.S. Treasury To Stop Minting Pennies
President Trump posted on Sunday that he has directed the Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies, because they cost more money to produce than they are worth. It comes weeks after Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency pointed toward pennies as an inefficient expense.
Each year, the U.S. makes billions of pennies, costing about 3.7 cents per penny. Production has exceeded the coin’s face value for 19 years. Nickels also cost more to make than their face value, at nearly 13.8 cents per five-cent coin, according to the U.S. Mint! [Note: Dimes and quarters both still cost less to produce than they are worth.]
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS
In 2024, the U.S. Mint issued over three billion pennies at a loss of about $85 million. There are already an estimated 240 billion pennies in circulation.
⁉️ Congress gives the U.S. Mint authorization to produce coins, so it is unclear if Trump has the power to get rid of the penny forever.
Legislators have tried in the past, with bills requiring cheaper materials to produce coins or to round cash transactions to the nearest nickel – but all have failed.
There is bipartisan support around the idea. Over a decade ago, President Obama said, “anytime we’re spending more money on something that people don’t actually use, that’s an example of something we should probably change.”
GLOBE CHECK
Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, New Zealand, and the UK have discontinued production of low-denomination coins, while Canada phased out the penny in 2012. Countries have taken different approaches to cash-rounding mandates. In Canada, post-tax totals can be rounded up or down to the nearest five-cent increment.
Opponents say the move could hurt consumers who use cash, and possibly fuel inflation. However, Henry Aaron, a senior fellow at the Brookings Economic Studies program, found in 2013 that there was “no evidence that dropping the penny has triggered Canadian inflation. Nor would it here.”
For the Abraham Lincoln fans, he will still be featured on the $5 bill.
MORE FROM THE U.S.
📌 Not 1. Not 2. Not 3. Not 4. 5 winter storms could deliver more snow than the last two winters combined (CNN)
📌 At least one dead after jet crashes into another plane at Scottsdale Airport in Arizona (FOX)
ICYMI FROM THE 📲
In case you missed it… two billionaires are feuding on the internet. On Monday, Elon Musk proposed buying Sam Altman’s ChatGPT for $97.4 billion. Altman countered by offering to buy Twitter from Musk at $9.74 billion — even though Musk purchased it for $44 billion. Low blow?