Federal Judge Orders Trump Administration to Restore Foreign Aid Funding

Leah Barkoukis | February 14, 2025 9:45 AM

A Biden-appointed federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to restore foreign aid funding that was paused pending review.

The judge, Amir Ali of the Federal District Court in Washington, said Trump officials did not explain why a "blanket suspension" was required prior to the review of the programs. Additionally, he argued the freeze was likely causing "irreparable harm" to the aid groups dependent on the funding.

“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 shock wave and upended reliance interests for thousands of agreements with businesses, nonprofits, and organizations around the country, was a rational precursor to reviewing programs,” Judge Amir Ali of the Federal District Court in Washington wrote in the order.

“Absent temporary injunctive relief, therefore, the scale of the enormous harm that has already occurred will almost certainly increase,” the judge added.

In his 15-page ruling, Judge Ali said that the plaintiffs — a coalition of aid groups, businesses, and health and media nonprofits — had “made a strong preliminary showing of irreparable harm.”
He cited the example of one nonprofit that protects refugees and asylum seekers. It reported having to lay off 535 staff members after losing federal grants, shutter program offices and defer payments to its vendors.
Judge Ali was unpersuaded that the administration’s use of waivers to allow some foreign aid programs to continue was a meaningful defense. He cited testimony indicating that even in some cases when funding had been deemed essential and granted a waiver by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the money remained stalled.
“Such waivers do not address the problem, because a business cannot halt global supply chains midstream and then resume operations with uncertainty as to whether it will have to halt again in 30 days,” he wrote. Trump administration lawyers, he wrote, “pointed to the waiver process but did not rebut this evidence, acknowledging that the waiver process may have had ‘hiccups.’”
Judge Ali was also skeptical about the Trump administration’s stated rationale for the freeze: to allow for a review in part to locate what it claims is hidden wasteful spending.
Trump administration lawyers “have not offered any explanation for why a blanket suspension of all congressionally appropriated foreign aid, which set off a shock wave and upended reliance interests for thousands of agreements with businesses, nonprofits and organizations around the country, was a rational precursor to reviewing programs,” he wrote. (NYT)