A federal judge has ordered former President Donald Trump to comply with a previous ruling that mandated the removal of a freeze on foreign aid, escalating legal tensions surrounding U.S. foreign assistance policies.
Judge Orders Trump Administration to Restore USAID Funding
In a ruling that has reignited political debates, Judge Amir H. Ali, appointed under the Biden administration, reaffirmed his February 13 directive, instructing the Trump administration to reinstate funding that had been withheld from various international aid programs.
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The judge’s latest statement comes after he accused government officials of trying to justify the aid suspension with what he described as a “post-hoc rationalization” instead of complying with the order.
“By enjoining Defendants and their agents from implementing a blanket suspension of funds, the Court was not inviting them to continue delaying payments under the guise of legal review,” Ali emphasized in his latest ruling.
Trump Officials Under Fire for Aid Withholding
The decision directly impacts funds managed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department, both of which have been embroiled in controversy over the halted financial aid programs.
Critics argue that the aid freeze disproportionately affected nonprofit organizations, many of which rely on these funds to operate internationally.
Nonprofits Challenge Trump’s Aid Cuts
Organizations such as the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) and the Journalism Development Network, Inc. (JDN) challenged the foreign aid cuts in court, arguing that they were unjustified and violated existing funding agreements.
Despite Judge Ali’s firm stance, he declined to hold Trump officials in contempt, stating that while the administration must comply, contempt charges were “not warranted on the current record.”
However, reports indicate that even after Ali’s ruling, USAID and State Department officials have yet to resume payments for hundreds of millions of dollars owed to various organizations.
Trump Administration Defends the Foreign Aid Freeze
The Trump administration has continued to defend its actions, with USAID Deputy Secretary Pete Marocco arguing in written court filings that the government had the legal authority to pause or terminate payments under thousands of contracts.
Meanwhile, legal challenges to the aid cuts continue, with multiple lawsuits filed against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a division led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, which has reportedly saved $55 billion through budget reductions affecting USAID, the Department of Education, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
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What’s Next? The Administration Reviews Aid on a Case-by-Case Basis
As legal battles intensify, the Trump administration is reportedly reviewing foreign aid programs on a case-by-case basis, rather than immediately releasing the suspended funds.
The ruling highlights ongoing tensions between the federal courts and the former president, raising questions about how foreign aid policies will evolve under future administrations.
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