WASHINGTON (AP) — In a significant legal move, a federal judge has mandated the Trump administration to release billions of dollars in U.S. foreign aid. The decision was made on Tuesday, with the judge giving the administration less than two days to comply following a court order issued nearly two weeks ago. This ruling comes in response to a lawsuit challenging the administration's freeze on foreign aid funding.
The lawsuit was initiated by nonprofit organizations affected by the cutoff of foreign assistance distributed through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department. This funding halt followed President Donald Trump's executive order on January 20, which aimed to target what he described as wasteful foreign programs that did not align with his foreign policy objectives.
Nonprofit groups and businesses reliant on federal aid for international work argued that the freeze violated federal law. They reported that the freeze halted funding even for the most critical life-saving programs abroad. These USAID and State partners claimed the administration had withheld hundreds of millions of dollars, leading to mass layoffs and threatening the financial stability of several organizations.
U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali initially ordered on February 13 for the administration to resume the flow of funds, including settling outstanding dues. Despite this directive, USAID staff and associated organizations have not seen any action towards unfreezing the funds.
The judge questioned Indraneel Sur, the government's lawyer, during a court session, asking, “I’m not sure why I can’t get a straight answer from you on this: Are you aware of an unfreezing of the disbursement of funds for those contracts and agreements that were frozen before Feb. 13?” To which Sur responded, “I’m not in a position to answer that.”
The lawsuit was brought forward by the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and the Global Health Council, representing health organizations that benefit from U.S. funds for global work. These organizations have requested Judge Ali to hold the Trump administration in contempt for not adhering to the previous court order.
