Federal judge temporarily halts Trump administration's foreign aid freeze

A district judge in Washington, D.C., ordered the Trump administration to temporarily halt the funding freeze for 90 days for hundreds of foreign aid contractors affected by the executive order signed by Donald Trump in this regard on the first day of his term. Amir Ali, appointed by Joe Biden in November, noted in his ruling that the government "failed to take into account the extraordinary prejudice caused by the widespread disruption of foreign aid."

The judge stressed that "absent temporary injunctive relief, therefore, the scale of the enormous harm that has already occurred will almost certainly increase. At least to date, Defendants have not offered any explanation for why a blanket suspension of all congressionally appropriated foreign aid, which set off a shock wave and upended reliance interests for thousands of agreements with businesses, nonprofits, and organizations around the country, was a rational precursor to reviewing programs."

An 'arbitrary and capricious' move

The ruling prohibits Trump's top budget advisors and the State Department, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, from canceling any contracts or stop-work orders put in place after Trump's inauguration, at least while the litigation unfolds.

The judge criticized the administration's action by noting that it "has offered no explanation" for why it ordered the review of the programs, hinting that it was an "arbitrary and capricious" move.

"There is nothing arbitrary and capricious about executive agencies conducting a review of programs. But there has been no explanation offered … as to why reviewing programs — many longstanding and taking place pursuant to contractual terms — required an immediate and wholesale suspension of appropriated foreign aid."