Trump judge refers DOJ attorneys to discipline committee for 'misleading' court

U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 4, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Mary S. McElroy — a Donald Trump appointee in Rhode Island — referred U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys to a court disciplinary committee. Politico's Josh Gerstein, reporting on X, noted that the ruling was "over handling of fight over trans medical care subpoenas to RI Hospital" — adding, "Earlier she agreed that presumption of regularity for [government] 'no longer holds.'"

Gerstein tweeted a previous court document by McElroy, dated May 14. And she was quite critical in some of her comments.

McElroy, in the document, wrote, "As citizens, we trust that federal prosecutors, when wielding this awesome power against a state, a company, or certainly against vulnerable children, will play fair and be honest with its counterparts and the judiciary. DOJ has proven unworthy of this trust at every point in this case. It has misrepresented and withheld information to both this Court and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (the 'Texas court')."

The federal judge went on to say that the Trump DOJ "has misled the parties with whom it was negotiating in Rhode Island, who have now been placed in an untenable and unprecedented procedural position."

McElroy added, "And when its attorneys came to this Court to explain their conduct, the senior attorney — who was present at many of the events that took place in this case — sat silently by as his counterpart, a junior attorney who has been practicing law for approximately six months and had no relevant information, was forced to answer questions about DOJ's blatant disregard for the proper course of negotiations."

McElroy explained, "Now before the Court is the petitioner, the Child Advocate for the State of Rhode Island’s (the 'Child Advocate') Emergency Motion to Quash a subpoena duces tecum issued by DOJ as well as Rhode Island Hospital's ('RIH') Motion to Quash the same subpoena. (ECF Nos. 1, 28.) For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS both Motions to Quash and enjoins the DOJ from seeking or receiving any documents related to this now invalid subpoena."

Trump nominated McElroy to her current position during her first presidency, and she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

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