Money Matters: Judge Tells Trump to Unfreeze Aid

A federal judge has stepped in and told the Trump administration to temporarily unfreeze foreign aid funding. This decision came after a sudden halt in payments caused chaos for suppliers and non-profits worldwide. The judge gave the administration five days to show they are following the order. The judge's decision was the first to challenge the Trump administration's freeze on funding. Many groups, including government employees, aid organizations, and suppliers, have filed lawsuits against the administration's quick actions to dismantle USAid and other foreign assistance programs. Trump and his aide Elon Musk believe that the aid agency and much of foreign assistance do not align with their agenda. The judge pointed out that the administration did not explain why they stopped all congressionally approved foreign aid. This sudden halt has left thousands of non-profits, businesses, and others in a tough spot. Contractors, farmers, and suppliers around the world say they are owed hundreds of millions of dollars for work already done. They have had to lay off staff and are on the brink of financial collapse. Farmers and suppliers described undelivered food aid rotting in ports and other aid at risk of theft. The judge ordered the administration to notify every organization with an existing foreign-aid contract about the temporary stay. He set a Tuesday deadline for the administration to show they had done so and were complying with the order. There was no immediate public response from the Trump administration. The judge issued the temporary order in a lawsuit brought by two organizations, the Aids Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and the Global Health Council. These groups represent health organizations receiving US funds for work abroad.

The judge noted that the Trump administration argued it needed to shut down funding for a thorough review of each program. However, the administration failed to show a "rational reason for disregarding . . . the countless small and large businesses that would have to shutter programs or shutter their businesses altogether, " the judge added. The ruling also stops the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and other Trump officials from enforcing stop-work orders sent to companies and organizations carrying out foreign aid orders. The judge rejected the administration's claim that it was buffering the impact of the funding freeze and offering waivers to allow funding to keep flowing to some aid partners. In a separate ruling, a judge said his temporary block on a Trump administration order that would pull all but a fraction of USAid staffers off the job worldwide would stay in place at least another week. US district judge Carl Nichols closely questioned the government about how it could keep aid staffers abroad safe on leave despite the administration’s dismantling of USAid. When a justice department attorney could not provide detailed plans, the judge asked him to file court documents after the hearing. USAid staffers who until recently were posted in Congo had filed affidavits for the lawsuit describing the aid agency as all but abandoning them when looting and political violence exploded in the country’s capital last month, leaving them to evacuate with their families.

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