A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to pay the organizations that sued it by next Monday night — a move the judge called the “first concrete step” toward the release of nearly $2 billion in suspended foreign aid.
By 6 p.m. on March 10, the plaintiffs that sued the Trump administration — including nonprofits such as the AVAC, and for-profits such as Chemonics and DAI — should be receiving money for all work completed before Feb. 13. After that, the judge is expected to announce a “clear” and “feasible” timeline for the government to release the remaining funds.
“The first tranche [will be] that plaintiffs have their invoices and letters of credit drawdown requests for work completed prior to Feb. 13,” said U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, speaking after four hours of deliberations on Thursday. “And then what I’d like to do is understand a benchmark going forward.”