A federal judge has issued a temporary injunction against the Trump administration’s sweeping freeze on U.S. foreign aid programmes.
Judge Amir Ali ruled Thursday that the administration must cease “suspending, pausing, or otherwise preventing” foreign assistance funds. The order also blocks the government from terminating or suspending existing contracts that were in place as of January 19, 2025.
The ruling comes amid aggressive moves by the Trump administration to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), including orders to slash its workforce from 10,000 to approximately 300 employees and recall thousands of international staff to the United States. USAID, which manages $42.8 billion in humanitarian aid, representing 42% of global humanitarian assistance, operates in about 120 countries.
The administration had justified the aid freeze as necessary to review programmes for “efficiency and consistency with priorities.” However, Judge Ali’s ruling criticised this rationale, noting that officials had “not offered any explanation for why a blanket suspension” that disrupted thousands of agreements with businesses and nonprofits was necessary to conduct such a review.
The legal challenge was brought by a coalition of businesses and nonprofit organisations that receive federal grants for foreign assistance work.
The moves against USAID align with broader efforts by Trump, who began his second term last month, to reduce the size of the federal government. The campaign is being led by top donor Elon Musk, who has described USAID as a “criminal organisation” needing to be put “through the woodchipper.” Trump himself has claimed the agency is “run by radical lunatics.”
Newly appointed Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also criticised the agency, which was founded by his uncle President John F. Kennedy, calling it a “sinister propagator of totalitarianism.”
In a related development, Trump recently dismissed USAID’s independent inspector general, Paul Martin. The firing came shortly after Martin’s office released a report critical of the administration’s attempts to dismantle the agency, according to multiple media outlets.
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