US District Judge Amir Ali, a Biden appointee, blocked President Trump from cutting billions of dollars in USAID and foreign aid that Congress authorized.
Trump will immediately appeal Judge Ali’s ruling.
“President Trump has the executive authority to ensure that all foreign aid is accountable to taxpayers and aligns with the America First priorities people voted for,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement to Reuters.
Reuters reported:
A federal judge has blocked U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration from unilaterally cutting billions of dollars of foreign aid authorized by Congress that is set to expire at the end of September.
U.S. District Judge Amir Ali in Washington ruled on Wednesday night that the administration remains under a duty to comply with appropriations laws unless Congress changes them and cannot choose not to spend roughly $4 billion of the $11.5 billion appropriated in 2024, set to expire on September 30.
Some funds from prior appropriations cycles likewise expire on September 30.
Ali said that the Trump administration had “given no justification to displace the bedrock expectation that Congress’s appropriations must be followed.”
Earlier this year, Judge Ali temporarily blocked President Trump from cancelling foreign aid contracts.
Judge Ali ordered the Trump Admin to restore funding for the foreign aid contractors after Trump froze US foreign aid for 90 days.
After Trump’s executive order to halt foreign aid grants, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued new guidance to temporarily pause spending on most foreign aid for 3 months.
Judge Ali previously said Trump’s order halting foreign funding caused enormous harm.
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