Judge orders Trump administration to unfreeze existing aid programs
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to reverse its foreign aid funding freeze on existing programs — the result of a stop-work order issued by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Jan. 24 — in a key ruling for contractors and NGOs that had to halt their work pending a 90-day review.
“The Court finds Plaintiffs have satisfied their burden for a narrower injunction concerning the implementation of the blanket suspension of foreign aid funding,” Judge Amir Ali of the Federal District Court in Washington wrote in the order, issued late Thursday night.
The temporary restraining order issued in a pair of lawsuits brought by implementers of USAID and State Department projects and programs will require the government to immediately stop any suspensions or pauses that are preventing the obligation or disbursement of foreign assistance funds for contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, loans, or other awards that existed prior to Jan. 19.
About the author
Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal
Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.
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