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A judge has ordered the Trump administration to temporarily lift the funding freeze that shut down U.S. aid and development programs abroad.
In another setback for President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, Judge Amir Ali issued the order Thursday in a lawsuit brought by companies that receive U.S. funding for the programs.
Trump froze almost all foreign aid in late January, a decision that has devastated foreign aid contractors and recipients.
Ali said In the order that the Trump administration did not take into account the “extraordinary harm” caused by suddenly freezing foreign aid, and that it would have a “catastrophic effect on humanitarian missions.”
The judge also hit out at the administration’s lack of explanation “for why a blanket suspension of all congressionally appropriated foreign aid” was imposed.
Ali added that the move “set off a shockwave and upended reliance interests for thousands of agreements with businesses, nonprofits, and organizations around the country.”
The ruling was the first to temporarily roll back a Trump administration funding freeze on foreign assistance that had forced USAID and State Department contractors around the world to stop providing humanitarian aid and other assistance and lay off staff, paralyzing much of the world’s relief delivery networks.
It was met with jubilation from Lauren Bateman, a lawyer at Public Citizen Litigation Group and the lead counsel on the case.
“This order is not just an enormous victory for our clients. It is a victory for the world,” Bateman said in a statement. “Life-saving humanitarian work can resume, and thousands of American jobs will be saved. It is not hyperbole to say that this order saves lives.”
The order allowing funds to flow again applies to existing contracts before Trump issued his January 20 executive order declaring a freeze on foreign assistance.
Trump called much of U.S. aid out of line with his agenda.
Earlier Thursday, a judge in a separate case over the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID and U.S. aid programs abroad said that his order halting the Trump administration’s plans to pull all but a fraction of USAID staffers off the job worldwide will stay in place for at least another week.
Despite Trump’s swift crackdown on foreign aid, the American people do not approve of the freeze on USAID, according to a poll of 1,946 Americans by Prolific.
Half (49 percent) of all respondents said they did not approve of immediately stopping all U.S. aid to foreign countries, while a third supported the action, and 17 percent were unsure.
More broadly, the majority of respondents (51 percent) believe that the U.S. should continue to provide aid abroad, while just 25 percent disagreed, according to the exclusive poll carried out on February 3.
AP contributed to reporting
