WASHINGTON: A federal judge has temporarily lifted a freeze on funding to United States aid and development programmes ordered by President Donald Trump’s administration, court documents seen by AFP on Friday (Feb 14) showed.
Judge Amir Ali, who was appointed by Joe Biden in November, prohibited the Trump administration from “suspending, pausing, or otherwise preventing” foreign assistance funds, according to Thursday’s ruling.
The Trump administration has frozen foreign aid funding, ordered thousands of internationally based staff to return to the US and begun slashing the US Agency for International Development (USAID) headcount of 10,000 employees to around only 300.
This has put the work of USAID in some of the world’s poorest countries in doubt. The agency has a budget of US$42.8 billion, representing 42 per cent of humanitarian aid disbursed worldwide.
The new court order also stops the government from “issuing, implementing, enforcing, or otherwise giving effect to terminations, suspensions, or stop-work orders” in relation to existing contracts as of Jan 19, 2025.
The ruling said that the “stated purpose in implementing the suspension of all foreign aid is to provide the opportunity to review programs for their efficiency and consistency with priorities”.
“However, at least to date, Defendants have not offered any explanation for why a blanket suspension of all congressionally appropriated foreign aid, which set off a shockwave and upended reliance interests for thousands of agreements with businesses, nonprofits, and organisations around the country, was a rational precursor to reviewing programs,” it said.
The plaintiffs in the case are or represent groups of small and large businesses and health and journalistic nonprofits that receive federal grant money to perform foreign assistance work.
Source: CNA
