Judge who ruled against Trump funding freeze has ties to taxpayer-funded homeless org

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.Ov...