WASHINGTON, USA – President Donald Trump’s administration has suffered a significant blow after a judge ruled that it must temporarily allow the disbursement of foreign aid.
The order issued on Thursday, February 13, 2025, came amid a lawsuit filed by nonprofit groups that work on international aid projects, as well as other organisations.
The groups had in January 2025 asked that the judge block the Executive Order President Trump signed that implemented a blanket pause on U.S. foreign aid.
How the U.S. judge delivered the ruling
Secretary of State Marco Rubio subsequently ordered an immediate halt to nearly all U.S. foreign assistance.
“Consistent with the reasoning above, it is hereby ordered that Defendants Marco Rubio, Peter Marocco, Rusell Vought, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Office of Management and Budget (the “Restrained Defendants) and their agents are temporarily enjoined from enforcing or giving effect to Sections 1,5, 7, 8, and 9 of the Department of State Memorandum, 25 State 6828 (January 24, 2025) and any other directives that implement Sections 3 (a) and 3 (c) of Executive Order Number 14169, “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid” (January 20, 2025),” reads a statement from Amir H. Ali, United States District Judge.
BREAKING: Federal judge pauses Trump’s freeze on foreign aid. He specifically ordered the flow of money to any contracts, grants or loans that were in existence at the end of the Biden administration to continue. He also halted any efforts to terminate or impose stop-work orders
Judge Amir further lifted the suspension, pause, or otherwise prevention of the obligation or disbursement of appropriated foreign assistance funds in connection with any contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, loans, or any other federal foreign assistance award that was in existence during former president Joe Biden’s administration.
“It is further hereby ordered that nothing in this order shall prohibit the retrained defendants from enforcing the terms of contracts or grants,” said the judge.
What the Restrauned Defendants should do
Judge Amir further ordered that the Restrained Defendants take all steps necessary to effectuate his order and provide written notice of the order to all recipients of existing contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements for foreign assistance.
“It is further hereby ordered that the Restrained Defendants shall file a status report by February 18, 2025, apprising the court of the status of their compliance with this order, including by providing a copy of the written notice described above,” ordered Judge Amir.
The court also ordered that the parties meet, confer, and file a joint status report by February 14, 2025, at 5 p.m., proposing an expedited preliminary injunction briefing schedule.
Meanwhile, the White House is yet to respond to the court ruling that has dealt a blow to President Trump’s administration’s sweeping efforts to halt international aid.
