US federal court halts USAID funding freeze – media
A federal judge has temporarily lifted the freeze on funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which led to serious disruptions in international aid programs.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to Euronews.
Federal Judge Amir Ali has issued a temporary ruling in favor of two organizations receiving US funding for overseas work. The court ruled that Donald Trump's administration must temporarily lift the freeze, which has severely harmed nonprofit organizations engaged in international aid.
According to reports, the temporary funding suspension, introduced earlier this year, has led to the shutdown of thousands of aid programs abroad. The judge confirmed that as a result, many businesses and organizations carrying out these projects were left unpaid, leading to widespread layoffs and furloughs."
According to the judge, the Trump administration did not provide convincing evidence that the freeze was a necessary step and did not explain why it decided to terminate all programs at once. This decision was the second defeat for Trump in his initiative to reduce USAID's activities.
The court also banned senior Trump administration officials from executing orders to terminate funding programs and ordered them to continue working on existing contracts until further notice.
Suspension of USAID funding
As reported, at the end of January, the U.S. federal government agency USAID suspended funding for all programs and projects in Ukraine for 90 days to implement the State Department's directive to audit foreign aid.
However, it is currently unknown whether funding for at least some projects will resume. After all, American billionaire Elon Musk, who heads the US Government's Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE), called USAID's work ineffective and has already announced the start of its liquidation.
USAID's Director of Security and his deputy were placed on administrative leave on Saturday, February 1, after they failed to provide access to the agency's secure systems to employees of the Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE) under Elon Musk's leadership.
Subsequently, Musk shared a fake video claiming that USAID allegedly paid millions of dollars to Western stars to increase the popularity of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
After that, U.S. President Donald Trump appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio as acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). He stated that the Trump Administration would review USAID programs to determine which ones would be in the national interest and continue to operate.
All USAID hired personnel around the world have been furloughed since February 7. The only exceptions will be for critical staff, key management, and specially designated programs.
