Trump’s pause on foreign aid ruled legal by US court
Donald Trump, President of the US (photo: Getty Images)
A US federal appeals court lifted a judicial order that had required the State Department to continue foreign aid payments. The decision is considered a victory for President Donald Trump, according to Reuters.
On Wednesday, August 13, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 that the lower court erred in ordering the Trump administration to resume foreign aid payments previously approved by Congress.
US District Judge Amir Ali, appointed by former President Joe Biden, had required the Trump administration to release about $2 billion in outstanding aid to humanitarian partners worldwide.
In her majority opinion, appointed during President George W. Bush’s tenure, Appeals Court Judge Karen Henderson stated that these nonprofit organizations have no standing to sue and thus did not meet the criteria for an injunction.
The ruling notes that only the US Government Accountability Office, as the oversight body, can challenge presidential attempts to block foreign aid funding.
Henderson also emphasized that the court was not ruling on whether Trump’s freeze of foreign aid violated the US Constitution by limiting Congress’s budgetary authority.
Judge Gregory Katsas, appointed by Trump, agreed with Henderson’s opinion.
Separate opinion
Biden-appointed Appeals Court Judge Florence Pan argued that her colleagues are allowing the Trump administration to ignore federal law and the constitutional principle of separation of powers.
“The court's acquiescence in and facilitation of the Executive's unlawful behavior derails the carefully crafted system of checked and balanced power that serves as the greatest security against tyranny - the accumulation of excessive authority in a single Branch,” Pan wrote.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget stated that the ruling prevents radical leftist groups, funded from shadowy sources, from maliciously interfering with the president’s ability to responsibly spend funds and lawfully manage foreign aid, in line with his ‘America First’ policy.
Suspension of US foreign aid
Immediately after his inauguration for a second presidential term on January 20, 2025, Donald Trump suspended all foreign aid funding for 90 days.
His executive order effectively curtailed the operations of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the main American agency responsible for providing foreign assistance.
Most of the agency’s staff were sent on leave, and later, USAID’s activities were placed under the supervision of the State Department.
Two nonprofit organizations, the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and the Journalism Development Network, both federally funded, filed a lawsuit claiming that Trump’s freeze on funding was illegal.
On January 29, a US federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s decision to suspend funding for foreign aid programs and grants.
