A Rhode Island federal judge who blocked President Trump’s sweeping freeze on federal assistance earlier this year has been slapped with a complaint from a conservative legal group alleging that he could benefit from his decision.
Providence US District Judge John McConnell sat on the board of Crossroads Rhode Island, a homeless services provider that has benefited from federal assistance, from 2006 to at least 2023, the nonprofit’s tax records show. Between 2011 and 2021, the judge served as the board’s chairman.
America First Legal, which began digging into McConnell’s past after he issued a preliminary injunction halting Trump’s freeze earlier this year, argued in a complaint filed to the Boston-based 1st Circuit Court of Appeals that the judge’s ties to Crossroads pose a conflict of interest.
The Trump-aligned legal group is pleading with the appeals court to “take all appropriate action to resolve these issues.”
“Despite his long-time entanglement with this federally funded organization, Judge McConnell did not recuse himself,” America First Legal wrote in a 13-page complaint obtained by The Post.
“His failure to do so may violate federal law and judicial canons of ethics, raises profound concerns about Judge McConnell’s judgment as an officer of the court, and his fitness for the bench.”
A spokesperson for Crossroads and McConnell told The Post that the judge left the organization’s board in April 2024.
Since 2010, Crossroads has taken in at least $15.4 million in federal grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, including at least $2.2 million this year alone, according to public records cited in the complaint.
Over the last 12 years, Crossroads has received at least $18.7 million from state and local grants, including at least $4.5 million this year.
In 2023, government funding accounted for roughly 64.7% of Crossroads’ roughly $28.78 million in revenue, according to numbers calculated from its Form 990 tax document.
Overall, America First Legal claims that Crossroads has reaped $128 million in government cash during McConnell’s tenure on its board. The Post was not able to independently verify that sum.
A spokesperson for McConnell declined to comment on the complaint.
America First Legal pointed to judicial canons that warn “a judge’s obligation under this Code and the judge’s obligation as a fiduciary may come into conflict.”
McConnell has been criticized by allies of the president over his ruling.
Back in January, the Office of Personnel Management issued a controversial and since-rescinded memo calling for a pause on certain types of “federal financial assistance” while permitting exemptions on a “case-by-case basis.”
Officials claimed that the freeze would not impact Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security and that the halt was merely intended to give the Trump administration time to parse through federal outlays.
Days after issuing the memo, Trump’s budget team rescinded it, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified that pulling back the memo did not lead to “rescission of the federal funding freeze.”
As a result, a group of 23 states and the District of Columbia forged ahead with a lawsuit against the Trump administration.
The state of Rhode Island, which provided funding to Crossroads, was among the two dozen plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
McConnell, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, issued a temporary injunction on the freeze in January and determined a month later that OPM had not fully complied with his order to free up all the funding.
At the time, McConnell held that the “extraordinary and drastic remedy” was necessary because “the States rely on federal funds to provide and maintain vital programs and services.”
In March, the judge went a step further and issued an indefinite preliminary injunction against the Trump administration while litigation over the attempted pause on federal assistance played out.
“The executive’s categorical freeze of appropriated and obligated funds fundamentally undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government,” McConnell wrote in his order at the time.
“The interaction of the three co-equal branches of government is an intricate, delicate, and sophisticated balance — but it is crucial to our form of constitutional governance. Here, the executive put itself above Congress.”
Last month, the Trump administration revealed in court documents that it was appealing McConnell’s order.
“While a careful analysis of judicial decisions is always warranted, it should avoid ad hominem partisanship and sensationalist rhetoric that are favored on the internet and in television soundbites,” Rhode Island Bar Association president Christopher Gontarz said in a statement earlier this year defending the judge.
“Judge McConnell is a well-respected jurist. The Rhode Island Bar Association stands firmly in support of Judge McConnell.”
Separately, the Trump administration is working to defang the lower courts’ ability to issue broad, sweeping national injunctions against the president’s actions.
Later this month, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the Trump administration’s bid to quash injunctions against the president’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. That case is expected to test the power lower courts have to issue nationwide pauses on presidential actions.
