# How will this be enforced? (judge orders Trump administration to abide by his restraining order) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [February 10, 2025, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147 "2025-02-10T19:57:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/1 "2025-02-10T19:57:56Z")
> **[Judge finds Trump administration violated court order halting funding freeze](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/judge-finds-trump-administration-violated-court-order-halting-funding-rcna191528)** > > U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell said the government has not restored funding in several programs despite his Jan. 31 order temporarily halting the freeze. So how will this be enforced? Does it come down to Congress having to impeach him if he doesn’t comply? ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/2 "2025-02-10T20:06:04Z")
As I understand it yes, it would require Congress to take action. I think we all know that won’t be happening. Even if SCOTUS issues rulings DJT dislikes there is no enforcement without Congress getting involved. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/3 "2025-02-10T20:08:33Z")
Can the judge issue a bench warrant for contempt an order his arrest? ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/4 "2025-02-10T20:17:13Z")
Yes, and at the moment the judge is merely threatening contempt for officials who defy the order. > **[Judge says Trump administration violating order to lift spending freeze](https://www.yahoo.com/news/judge-says-trump-administration-violating-180146548.html)** > > The judge ordered the administration to “immediately restore frozen funding." > [@](#): > > McConnell hinted at the possibility of contempt for officials who he deems as continuing to defy his order, citing a 1975 court ruling that noted “Persons who make private determinations of the law and refuse to obey an order generally risk criminal contempt even if the order is ultimately ruled incorrect.” ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/5 "2025-02-10T20:19:19Z")
Can Trump be arrested or is this defiance an “official act” as defined by SCOTUS? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/6 "2025-02-10T20:20:29Z")
I know that with the presidential immunity decision nothing can be done to Trump unless he gets impeached and convicted - but there’s more than one defendant in this case. The title is DONALD TRUMP, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, et al. and the people _et al._ \* includes do not enjoy immunity. I’d be very surprised if Trump ignored the order and let one of those people go to jail. He might, but I’m pretty sure he’d be afraid of what would happen Bessent gets tossed into jail. And it would be worse if it happens to more than one of them \*U.S. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET; MATTHEW J. VAETH, in his Official Capacity as Acting Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY; SCOTT BESSENT, in his Official Capacity as Secretary of the Treasury; PATRICIA COLLINS, in her Official Capacity as Treasurer of the U.S.; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES; DOROTHY A. FINK, M.D., in her Official Capacity As Acting Secretary Of Health And Human Services; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; DENISE CARTER, in her Official Capacity as Acting Secretary of Education; U.S. FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY; CAMERON HAMILTON, in his Official Capacity as Acting Administrator of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION; JUDITH KALETA, in her Official Capacity as Acting Secretary of Transportation; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR; VINCE MICONE, in his Official Capacity as Acting Secretary of Labor; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY; INGRID KOLB, in her Official Capacity as Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy; U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY; JAMES PAYNE, in his Official Capacity as Acting Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; KRISTI NOEM, in her Capacity as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE; JAMES R. McHENRY III, in his Official Capacity as Acting Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice; THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION; and DR. SETHURAMAN PANCHANATHAN, in his Capacity as Director of the National Science Foundation, ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/7 "2025-02-10T20:23:23Z")
Presidential immunty definitely protects trump and he can pardon anyone who’s willing to go along with this. The only hard check built into the constitution is impeachment. Beyond that, extralegal means like a military coup. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/8 "2025-02-10T20:31:08Z")
Can a President pardon someone for contempt? That seems sketchy at best. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/9 "2025-02-10T20:36:40Z")
He could definitely pardon someone convicted of criminal contempt in a Federal case - but violating a court order is usually civil contempt and the person can always purge that contempt by complying with the court order. I can’t see how a president can pardon civil contempt - it’s not a criminal charge or conviction. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/10 "2025-02-10T20:59:12Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Can a President pardon someone for contempt? That seems sketchy at best. [https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S2-C1-3-1/ALDE\_00013316/](https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S2-C1-3-1/ALDE_00013316/) > _ **Article II, Section 2, Clause 1:** _ > > _The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment._ > > _The Constitution establishes the President’s authority to grant clemency, encompassing not only pardons of individuals but several other forms of relief from criminal punishment as well.[1](https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S2-C1-3-1/ALDE_00013316/#ALDF_00022668)The power, which has historical roots in early English law,[2](https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S2-C1-3-1/ALDE_00013316/#ALDF_00022669) has been recognized by the Supreme Court as quite broad. In the 1886 case Ex parte Garland, the Court referred to the President’s authority to pardon as unlimited except in cases of impeachment, extending to every offence known to the law and able to be exercised either before legal proceedings are taken, or during their pendency, or after conviction and judgment.[3](https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S2-C1-3-1/ALDE_00013316/#ALDF_00022670) Much later, the Court wrote that the broad power conferred in the Constitution gives the President plenary authority to 'forgive’ [a] convicted person in part or entirely, to reduce a penalty in terms of a specified number of years, or to alter it with certain conditions.[4](https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S2-C1-3-1/ALDE_00013316/#ALDF_00022671)_ > > _Despite the breadth of the President’s authority under the Pardon Clause, the Constitution’s text provides for at least two limits on the power: first, clemency may only be granted for Offenses against the United States,[5](https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S2-C1-3-1/ALDE_00013316/#ALDF_00022672) meaning that state criminal offenses and federal or state civil claims are not covered.[6](https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S2-C1-3-1/ALDE_00013316/#ALDF_00022673) Second, the President’s clemency authority cannot be used in Cases of impeachment.[7](https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S2-C1-3-1/ALDE_00013316/#ALDF_00022674)_ The power of the presidential pardon is quite broad but as @doreen notes, it does not cover civil proceedings (including, presumably, civil contempt). This begs the question, who would actually arrest and process someone charged with federal civil contempt. This would normally be the purview of the US Marshal’s Service, which is a part of the Department of Justice overseen by Pam Bondi who, if you will recall, failed to answer the question of whether she would refuse an illegal order given by the president during her Senate confirmation hearing. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/11 "2025-02-10T21:10:32Z")
So basically democracy is over if trump doesn’t comply? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/12 "2025-02-10T21:24:16Z")
I’ve given up predicting what will happen next because this has basically become one of those _Monty Python’s Flying Circus_ sketches that keeps going into the next sketch ad nauseam until Graham Chapman steps in and says, “Enough, this is too silly!”, but none of this is good. Basically, you can expect Trump to keep pushing the boundaries until something hard pushes back because he knows that he’ll personally experience no legal ramifications (even if he has to sacrifice some underling to test that boundary), and the odds that enough Republicans in Congress will defy him sufficient to even impeach, much less convict and remove, is basically nil. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/13 "2025-02-10T21:39:02Z")
Not that there isn’t precedent for these types of shenanigans. I guess this is the right place to post that famous Andrew Jackson quote: “John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it.” ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/14 "2025-02-10T21:39:36Z")
This is something I’ve raised in several other threads. I really do not know what t he enforcement mechanism is if Trump and his minions at DoJ and elsewhere simply tell federal courts to pound sand, and Congress fails to take any action. This is truly worrisome. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. _(I’m no expert, but I was a PolSci major and am a lawyer, married to a lawyer/teacher of business law, and have been a fed employee for several decades.)_ ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/15 "2025-02-10T22:40:32Z")
More like rule of law is more or less out the window. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/16 "2025-02-10T22:52:10Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > and Congress fails to take any action. Congress **is** the enforcement system. And we’ve already seen it fail, twice. There’s no reason to think they’ll finally do the right thing now. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/17 "2025-02-10T23:03:27Z")
Yeah. There’s a bit of a history with this particular question: > **[Executive Enforcement of Judicial Orders | Federal Judicial Center](https://www.fjc.gov/history/administration/executive-enforcement-judicial-orders)** > > Includes landmark legislation, congressional committees, appropriations, administrative agencies, court officers and staff… I wanted to link to another post – mine – that, IMHO, touches on this subject: > [@A rational look at what Trump will/won't/can/can't do in his next term](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rational-look-at-what-trump-will-wont-can-cant-do-in-his-next-term/1009876/63): > > My wife brought an email to my attention this morning. It came from her employer, and was asking her to click ‘here’ in order to refresh her password for two-factor authorization (2FA). The origin email and IP addresses looked good to me, but in the body of the text it mentioned that you could click on the following link for more information. I hovered over the link, noted the website to which it referred, and looked into it. It doesn’t exist. I told her I thought she was right to be skepti… ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/18 "2025-02-10T23:04:18Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I really do not know what t he enforcement mechanism is if Trump and his minions at DoJ and elsewhere simply tell federal courts to pound sand, and Congress fails to take any action. Start arresting or fining individual government employees/appointees responsible for carrying out the orders. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/19 "2025-02-10T23:08:58Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Start arresting or fining individual government employees/appointees responsible for carrying out the orders. Who does the arresting, and who collects the fines? What repercussions are there if fines are not paid? Serious questions. I do not know the answer. Or that there IS an answer. The Constitution and other governmental institutions do not provide well for a lawless executive. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147/20 "2025-02-10T23:09:35Z")
Who would be find the arresting? Which department do they report to? Who collects the fines? Which department do they report to? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-be-enforced-judge-orders-trump-administration-to-abide-by-his-restraining-order/1014147.md?page=2)