A federal appeals court on Wednesday reversed a district court’s order and allowed President Trump to cut billions of foreign aid payments that Congress already approved.
A three-judge panel on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 ruling overruled a lower court’s order that blocked Trump from cutting billions of dollars to USAID.
The three judges included: Majority: Karen Henderson (George H.W. Bush), Gregory Katsas (Trump), and dissent: Florence Pan (Biden).
Fox News reported:
A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration can slash up to roughly $2 billion in foreign aid payments that it halted earlier this year, delivering a victory to the Trump administration months after President Donald Trump sought to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 to reverse a lower court’s decision that ordered the Trump administration to resume paying out the nearly $2 billion in USAID funding that had previously been approved by Congress.
Writing for the majority, Judge Karen L. Henderson, a President George H.W. Bush appointee, said that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to sue the Trump administration over its decision to withhold the funds.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated the court win.
Another @TheJusticeDept victory in court for President Trump’s agenda!
In a 2-1 ruling, the DC Circuit lifted an injunction ordering President Trump to spend hard-earned taxpayer dollars on wasteful foreign aid projects.
We will continue to successfully protect core…
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) August 13, 2025
Wednesday’s decision from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals comes after a judge dismissed lawsuits challenging Trump’s dismantling of USAID.
Last month US District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, dismissed the lawsuit because the court lacks jurisdiction.
“The Court ultimately cannot reach the merits of any plaintiff’s allegations, however, because it concludes that it lacks jurisdiction over the claims of AFSA, AFGE, and Oxfam (which have moved for summary judgment after the Court denied their earlier motion for a preliminary injunction), and that it likely lacks jurisdiction over the claims of the PSCA (which has moved for a preliminary injunction). The Court will accordingly grant the government’s motion to dismiss the AFSA case and will deny the PSCA’s motion for a preliminary injunction,” the judge wrote.
Last month Secretary of State Marco Rubio said USAID officially ceased operations and is no longer giving money to foreign countries.
“Beyond creating a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War. Development objectives have rarely been met, instability has often worsened, and anti-American sentiment has only grown,” Rubio wrote in a blog post, according to Fox News.
“This era of government-sanctioned inefficiency has officially come to an end. Under the Trump Administration, we will finally have a foreign funding mission in America that prioritizes our national interests. As of July 1st, USAID will officially cease to implement foreign assistance. Foreign assistance programs that align with administration policies—and which advance American interests—will be administered by the State Department, where they will be delivered with more accountability, strategy, and efficiency,” Rubio said.
A court battle erupted after DOGE dismantled USAID earlier this year. A rogue Biden judge ordered the Trump Administration to pay billions of dollars in foreign aid contracts.
Rubio took over the agency and quietly worked to shut down the corruption and fraud.
As expected, fake news CNN is hyperventilating and claiming USAID’s closure could contribute to 14 million deaths in the next five years.
ABSURD: CNN reports that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced the OFFICIAL dismantling of USAID.
Their first reaction?
“Its closure could contribute to some 14 MILLION DEATHS in the next five years!” pic.twitter.com/1Mr9qPRu4z
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 1, 2025
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