Judge orders USAID to release millions of dollars in foreign aid

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to release millions of dollars in frozen foreign aid by midnight tomorrow — stating that it has provided “no evidence” of complying with the nearly two-week old directive to do just that. “I don’t know why I can’t get a straight answer from you,” U.S. District Judge Amir Ali asked the Trump administration’s attorney at a hearing on Tuesday. “We’re 12 days in, and you can’t answer me [on] whether any funds that you’ve acknowledged are covered by the court’s order have been unfrozen.” Hours later, the Trump administration filed an appeal to Ali’s order, attempting to continue blocking foreign assistance funding and halting any additional payments. The order comes after President Donald Trump blocked nearly all foreign assistance on Jan. 20. In the weeks since, his administration has dismantled the agency, fired thousands of staff, and placed nearly all the remainder on administrative leave. But earlier this month, several USAID partners fired back in court. It was a move that ultimately led Ali to order a thaw of Trump’s funding freeze on Feb. 13. Still, 12 days later, more than $700 million was still owed to just one segment of USAID implementing partners, a source with knowledge of those organizations told Devex. Four of the organizations suing the Trump administration broke the numbers down further on Monday night. The leader of international development company DAI, for example, said the organization is owed $150 million from USAID — $70 million of which comes from invoices more than 30 days past due. The organizations filed an emergency motion to enforce Ali’s temporary restraining order on the funding freeze the same night. “The government has done nothing to make the flow of payments happen,” said Stephen Wirth, the attorney representing the organizations, at a hearing the following day. “And certainly, [the government] can’t contradict my clients’ experiences that they have received no payments.” The judge ruled that all funds frozen before Feb. 13 — the day before his temporary restraining order went into effect — should be released by midnight Feb. 26. He also required all parties to provide a status report on the process by noon the same day. But with weeks of resistance from the Trump administration, most of those fighting for funding are hesitant to declare victory just yet. “The judge clearly has reiterated now, for the fourth time in two-and-a-half weeks, that his temporary restraining order stands — and that this should have already restarted because of the restraining order itself,” said Mitchell Warren, the head of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, or AVAC, one of the organizations involved in the case. “But clearly the government is ignoring it.” Last week, the Trump administration argued that despite Ali’s order, USAID retained the authority to review, suspend, and cancel awards on a case-by-case basis, referencing existing federal and agency regulations. At the time, nearly 500 USAID grants had been terminated since Jan. 22, along with an additional 750 from the Department of State. In a court order filed on Thursday, Ali rejected many of those assertions, though declined to hold the Trump administration in contempt of court as the plaintiffs had hoped. “The Court was not inviting Defendants to continue the suspension while they reviewed contracts and legal authorities to come up with a new, post-hoc rationalization for the en masse suspension,” stated a court order filed on Thursday. There’s also the issue of USAID staff — and who is left at the agency to actually move money through the system. This week, between 1,600 and 2,000 staff were terminated from the agency alone, while nearly all direct hires remaining were placed on administrative leave. Most have lost access to their emails and accounts, and even before they were placed on leave, very few staff members were able to access USAID’s financial management system. “Impossible,” one former senior USAID staffer told Devex. “The layoffs. The backlog. And only very few people have access to the necessary systems. The government will no doubt tell the judge it is unreasonable and impossible to comply. But it is the government who has made it impossible to comply.” Warren agreed, stating that for his organization and many others, USAID had become something of a black box. For weeks, very few nonprofits or contractors have been able to receive waivers even for lifesaving assistance — an exemption that Secretary of State Marco Rubio called out late last month. And even those granted waivers have not yet received the money to support the programs, making starting them up again virtually impossible. “I do believe this is a perfect storm,” he added. “Even if the restraining order were followed, and even if we do get the full injunction — there’s no one left. They’ve dismantled the agency. I do not believe we are ever going to go back to Jan. 19 in USAID foreign assistance rule of law.” Despite that, Ali ordered the Trump administration to take “all necessary actions” to ensure the prompt payment of frozen funds, and that “no action” should be taken to impede funds from flowing until the restraining order expires on March 10, 2025. The judge also ordered the administration to provide the court and the plaintiffs with any guidance, directives, and information they have sent out regarding the previously ordered thaw of the funding freeze since Feb. 13. “I am now on the edge of my seat until 11:59 tomorrow,” said Warren. “I don’t fully expect compliance from the government, given their past experiences the last two weeks. It is absolutely an important step forward, and it is really good news. Update, Feb. 25, 2025: This article has been updated to include the fact that the Trump administration filed an appeal to Judge Ali’s order.