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While the people closest to President Donald Trump continue to threaten to straight up ignore the courts in order to advance their agenda, at least one agency has decided it’s best to continue acknowledging the authority of the judicial system—you know, at least for now. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) told staff in a memo obtained by Popular Information that the agency will end the spending freeze ordained by Trump and instead comply with restraining orders issued by two federal courts.
The memo, penned by NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research Michael Lauer and NIH Chief Grants Officer Michelle Bulls, informed the agency’s grants management officers that their programs “fall under recently issued Temporary Restraining Orders” issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Per the memo, as of February 12, it is NIH policy to comply and issue new and continuing grants.
Notably, the first restraining order that NIH recognized as legitimate was issued on January 28. The dictate from the court called on the federal government and its agencies to provide notice that it would continue spending by no later than the morning of February 3, at which point they were supposed to follow the order and continue business as usual. So like, what happened between the deadline and February 12? It seems NIH was just in violation of the courts for about a little over a week, as staff was not allowed to issue grants during that period.
That seems… not great. Obviously better late than never here, but it just feels like the ground is getting a bit shaky beneath the feet of democratic norms, you know? The fact that Trump and some of his lackeys were dragging their feet did get the attention of the District Court judge up in Rhode Island, who issued a second ruling earlier this week that found the Trump administration was “improperly” freezing funds and demanded the government “immediately restore frozen funding” and “immediately end any federal funding pause.”
That at least seems to have been enough to get NIH to go back to doing its job. But the Trump administration has made it clear that it will not only appeal any attempt to obstruct its policies no matter how destructive they may be, but it will also act in an intentionally and maliciously obtuse way in order to wriggle out of any enforcement attempt from the judicial branch.
In a way, maybe that’s a good sign. If the administration was intent on simply ignoring the courts, it would just do that and not bother playing legal games. But there may be a point where the administration cares more about achieving its goals than appearing legitimate in the eyes of the courts. Enforcement of court orders, especially against the executive branch, is pretty reliant on compliance and an upholding of norms. A second, sternly worded court order may have been enough to get NIH to fall in line, but it may not be enough to stop a willfully defiant president.
