Congress
Judge rules OMB can’t retroactively nix grants based on new rules
A federal judge declared Friday that the Trump administration can’t cancel grants based on new rules or goals established after the fact — in a blow to its efforts to terminate billions of dollars already promised.
U.S. district judge Indira Talwani, an Obama appointee, denied the Trump administration’s request to dismiss a lawsuit brought by 20 states, three governors and the District of Columbia challenging the cancellation of billions of dollars in federal grant awards since President Donald Trump was inaugurated last year.
Federal law does not allow the “terminations of awards based on new program goals or agency priorities that an agency identifies after granting the award,” the court concluded.
The ruling comes as lawmakers in both parties, including Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), urge White House budget director Russ Vought to delay plans to overhaul the approval process for federal grants. The Trump administration is proposing a new regulation that would put political appointee in charge of approving or mixing awards for federal dollars.
The campaign finance arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is curtailing online contributions to House Democrats who voted to cut Israel aid this week, in the latest rift between the party and the influential advocacy group.
As of Friday afternoon, an online portal for AIPAC’s political action committee removed donation buttons for more than a dozen House Democrats from a page that lists incumbents who “stand with Israel.”
The members now listed without donation buttons include Reps. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the No. 2 House Democrat; Joe Neguse of Colorado, another member of leadership; and Rep. Pat Ryan of New York, who renounced AIPAC money after the vote.
“AIPAC members are deeply appreciative of their representatives who stand on principle and are disappointed by those who don’t,” AIPAC spokesperson Deryn Sousa said in a statement to Blue Light News.
The move is further evidence of a major shift in AIPAC’s political relationship with House Democrats. Ahead of the midterms, several hard-left progressive candidates have toppled incumbents in primaries after hammering them for accepting AIPAC money, leaving many Democrats to conclude that ties to the pro-Israel group are politically toxic.
According to a snapshot from the Internet Archive, the donation buttons were active as recently as July 6. At that point, the portal also included praise for former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California.
“We thank Congresswoman Pelosi for her support for the U.S.-Israel relationship,” a caption on the portal read on July 6 after noting Pelosi is not running for reelection. As of Friday, the thank you was gone — as was a thank you to Pelosi’s fellow California Democratic Rep. Julia Brownley.
Spokespeople for the House Democrats did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
On Wednesday, more than 100 House Democrats voted for an amendment to a State Department funding bill that would have cut U.S. aid to Israel, marking a massive break in the party’s once unshakable support for the Jewish state. Many of those members cited frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza. The amendment failed, with 98 Democrats including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York opposing it.
Ryan posted on X Wednesday that he expected groups like AIPAC would no longer support his future campaigns and that “frankly, I don’t want their support.”
“Hardline stances that refuse to stand up to a corrupt and increasingly dangerous Netanyahu regime have no place in our politics,” he said.
House GOP leaders released text Friday for a bill to fund the vast majority of the federal government from the start of the next fiscal year on Oct. 1 until after the midterm elections — bypassing the bipartisan appropriations process and daring Democrats to pick a shutdown fight months before voters head to the polls.
Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday he plans to put the legislation on the floor next week.
The measure would fund the government through Dec. 4 and, as Republican leaders promised, would not include additional policy riders or unrelated provisions.
The text released Friday also does not include President Donald Trump’s top policy priority, the partisan elections overhaul and voter ID measure dubbed the SAVE America Act.
Alan Dershowitz, a professor emeritus at Harvard Law School who worked to craft the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s 2008 plea deal, will not appear before the House Oversight Committee for his scheduled transcribed interview Monday, according to two committee aides granted anonymity to speak candidly.
Lawyers for Dershowitz told the Oversight panel he would not show up as planned and the committee has reached out to Dershowitz’s team to put another meeting on the schedule, said one of the aides.
Dershowitz is a well-known criminal defense attorney who has represented high profile clients such as President Donald Trump and O.J. Simpson. Many have contended Dershowitz’s work to get Epstein the plea deal in Florida allowed him to continue victimizing young women and girls for years until his subsequent arrest and suicide in prison in 2019.
The Oversight Committee continues to interview people tied up in Epstein’s web as part of its ongoing investigation. Jes Staley, a former JPMorganChase and Barclays executive, is set to sit for an interview with the panel July 23. The committee is also scheduled to have billionaire investor Leon Black, the co-founder of Apollo Global Management, appear for a videotaped deposition Sept. 3 that will be conducted under oath.
Dershowitz did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
- Alan Dershowitz cancels on House Oversight ahead of planned Epstein interview
- AIPAC drops online donations to Dems who backed Israel aid cut
- Judge rules OMB can’t retroactively nix grants based on new rules
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