Free Republic

A federal judge in Maryland on Monday indefinitely blocked the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing the sensitive personal data of about 2 million union members, student loan recipients and veterans. U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman ordered that the Department of Education, Department of the Treasury and Office of Personnel Management cease in divulging personally identifiable information to DOGE representatives. Those three agencies, she wrote, had already “likely violated” the Privacy Act and Administrative Procedure Act by granting DOGE affiliates sweeping access to systems containing plaintiffs’ banking information, social security numbers and other sensitive data. “No matter how important...

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND AMERICAN FEDERATION OF * TEACHERS, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Civ. No. DLB-25-0430 SCOTT BESSENT, et al., Defendants. ORDER For the reasons stated in the accompanying Memorandum Opinion issued today, it is this 24th day of March, 2025 hereby ORDERED: 1. The plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, ECF 59, is GRANTED as follows: a. The U.S. Department of Education (“Education”); Denise L. Carter, the Acting Secretary of Education; and their officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys are ENJOINED from disclosing the personally identifiable information of the plaintiffs and the...

On Thursday, a federal judge extended a temporary restraining order (TRO) barring DOGE from accessing Education Department and OMP records. US District Judge Deborah Boardman, a Biden appointee last month issued a TRO blocking the Department of Education and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) from sharing data with DOGE. “DOGE affiliates have been granted access to systems of record that contain some of the plaintiffs’ most sensitive data — Social Security numbers, dates of birth, home addresses, income and assets, citizenship status, and disability status — and their access to this trove of personal information is ongoing,” the judge wrote...

Yet another federal judge had decided to legislate from the bench to stop the Trump Administration. As Politico reported, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman of Maryland, a Biden appointee, prevented the Education Department and Office of Personnel Management from sharing sensitive information with Elon Musk’s DOGE, claiming it violates federal privacy laws. “The continuing, unauthorized disclosure of plaintiffs’ sensitive personal information to DOGE affiliates is irreparable harm that money damages cannot rectify,” U.S. Boardman wrote Monday in a 33-page ruling that granted a two-week restraining order. “DOGE affiliates have been granted access to systems of record that contain some of...

Judge Deborah Boardman, a Biden appointee, ruled that the order is likely unconstitutional. ... Boardman said the civil rights group plaintiffs, five pregnant women whose children would not be granted citizenship under the order, were likely to succeed on the merits. The plaintiffs are represented by the CASA and the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project.

GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday is set to hear arguments over temporarily pausing President Donald Trump's executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for anyone born in the U.S. to someone in the country illegally. Trump's inauguration week order is currently on temporary hold nationally because of a separate suit brought by four states in Washington state, where a judge called the order “blatantly unconstitutional." In total, 22 states, as well as other organizations, have sued to try to stop the executive action. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman is set to hear arguments in Maryland federal...

Two recent court decisions could have far-reaching impacts on oil and gas projects. The Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, and other anti-fossil fuel groups recently sued the National Marine Fisheries Service, claiming the agency’s “biological opinion” failed to properly assess the risks that offshore oil and gas drilling poses to endangered species. Last month, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman ruled in favor of the plaintiffs.

Officials tried to use a novel interpretation of tax law to expand the reach of Title IX regulations. This ruling put a stop to that. . A federal court of appeals ruling last month protects nonprofits (including private schools and homeschools) from federal overreach in the context of Title IX regulations. Schools that receive government money have to abide by Title IX, but the court found that having 501(c)(3) status is not enough to put a private school into that category. The ruling means private schools cannot be subject to Title IX solely because of their status with the IRS....

On Thursday, a federal court ruled that parents in Maryland do not have a right to opt their children out of classes which teach pro-LGBT curriculum. According to the Washington Free Beacon, the group of parents had filed a lawsuit against Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), demanding that the district revive a policy that allowed them to pull their children out of classes that discussed books and other materials featuring LGBT characters. The policy was first enacted in January but then repealed in March. “The Court concludes the plaintiffs’ asserted due process right to direct their children’s upbringing by opting...

A federal court has ruled that a group of interfaith parents have no proof that a school district violated their right to free expression by removing an option to opt their students out of lessons teaching LGBT ideology that conflicts with their religious values. Parents from Muslim, Christian and Jewish backgrounds sued to restore their right to shield their children from content deemed offensive and pushing sexual indoctrination after the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) enacted a no-opt-out policy. Books that the parents object to for pre-K through fifth grades as part of an LGBT curriculum include Pride Puppy and...

A district judge appointed by Joe Biden has ruled that parents in Montgomery County, Maryland, have no right to opt their children out of the school’s woke LGBTQ curriculum. United States District Judge Deborah L. Boardman ruled against the Muslim-led group of parents who did not want their children exposed to far-left propaganda about sex and gender. The parents sought an injunction before the first day of school on August 28 after the district changed its policies in March to no longer allow parents to opt their children out of being assigned books that advocate pride parades, gender transitioning, and...

A Maryland district court denied parents’ appeal to reinstate an opt-out policy in Montgomery County Public Schools on Thursday. The case, Tamer Mahmoud v. Monica B. McKnight, hinged on whether the district’s May decision to rescind its opt-out policy for LGBT curricula violated parents’ right to direct the religious instruction of their children. The court concluded that, “the plaintiffs’ asserted due process right to direct their children’s upbringing by opting out of a public-school curriculum that conflicts with their religious views is not a fundamental right.” Parents sought a preliminary injunction that would authorize opt-out options once school begins on...

NAPLES, FLORIDA — Law enforcement has launched a manhunt for Roy McGrath, the ex-chief of staff to former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, after he failed to appear in federal court Monday for the start of his criminal trial on fraud and theft charges. Sheriff’s deputies checked his home Monday morning in Naples, Florida, but McGrath wasn’t there, a spokeswoman said. A judge issued a warrant for his arrest, and the U.S. Marshals Service is calling him a fugitive. The area around McGrath’s Raffia Preserve home in Naples is quiet, a gated community off a main road that features new-build strip...

MSNBC's shows may have undergone a name change, but Tuesday's edition of Stephanie Ruhle Reports presented the same left-wing bias as before. As President Biden named his first batch of judicial appointments, Ruhle and White House correspondent Kristen Welker marveled how, unlike Trump's judicial nominees, they aren't white males. Their diversity was all that mattered, and their ideology wasn't worth questioning. Ruhle began by wondering, "Kristen, while I have you, one of former President Trump's, for conservatives, 'biggest wins' [quote fingers used] were all of the judges he put on the bench. I know President Biden just announced his first...