WASHINGTON – The Trump administration must temporarily allow payments of foreign aid, a judge ruled Thursday, taking the latest blow to the administration’s drastic efforts to stop international aid.
The court order comes in response to lawsuits filed by nonprofits working on international aid projects and other organizations.
They had called for President Donald Trump to prevent the executive order signed by the judge last month from implementing a comprehensive moratorium on US foreign aid. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has since ordered an immediate halt on almost all US foreign aid.
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U.S. District Judge Amir Ali made a more narrow decision on Thursday, rather than oppose the entire executive order, saying that for now the administration could not suspend or cancel foreign aid before Trump took office. I stated.
However, Ali said, “The court does not believe it is appropriate or necessary to prohibit the president or the executive order itself.”
The judge said in his ruling that the administration still “conflicts on detailed and reliable evidence of harm to countless American companies, from closing the program to cultivated and laying employees, to completely shutting down. “Not,” he said.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday night.
One of the plaintiffs, Global Health Council, praised the ruling in a news release. That president, Elisha Dan Jollzhou, said the ruling was “an important first step towards restoring the US foreign aid program.”
“Clearing the pathway for organizations to resume life-saving work and presenting American values: commitment to compassion, leadership, global health, stability and shared prosperity.”
The judge directed the parties to file a joint status report on further legal proceedings by 5pm on Friday.
The White House targeted the US International Development Agency shortly after Trump’s executive order suspended foreign aid. Thousands of employees and contractors have been fired, broadcasted and taken administrative leave.
USAID delivers billions of dollars in US foreign aid, but Trump and Elon Musk, who lead government efficiency, claim it is in vain. Musk calls USAID a “crime organisation.”
