A federal judge criticized the Department of Justice lawyers on Tuesday regarding the disbursement of USAID funds and ordered the Trump administration to make the payments for foreign contracts by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, a Biden appointee, temporarily blocked President Trump from canceling foreign aid contracts. The judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate funding for foreign aid contractors after Trump imposed a 90-day freeze on U.S. foreign aid last month.
Following Trump’s executive order to halt foreign aid grants, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued new guidelines temporarily pausing most foreign aid spending for three months. However, he noted that the State Department would consider waivers on a case-by-case basis. In response, several nonprofit organizations filed lawsuits demanding the restoration of their funding.
A few weeks ago, Judge Ali ruled that Trump’s suspension of foreign funding had caused severe disruptions. In his 15-page order, he criticized the administration’s lack of justification for the broad suspension of all congressionally appropriated foreign aid, stating that it had disrupted thousands of agreements with businesses, nonprofits, and organizations nationwide.
On Tuesday, Judge Ali reprimanded DOJ attorneys over their handling of the funds. He expressed frustration over their lack of clear responses regarding the status of the disbursement. During a telephone hearing attended by Politico reporter Kyle Cheney, the judge directly questioned the DOJ lawyers.
“I don’t know why I can’t get a straight answer from you. Are you aware of an unfreezing of the disbursement of funds for those contracts and agreements that were frozen before Feb. 13?” Ali asked.
A DOJ lawyer responded, “I’m not in a position to answer that.”
According to Reuters, the judge issued a firm directive requiring the Trump administration to disburse the foreign aid funds by Wednesday night, emphasizing that there was no indication the administration had taken any steps to comply with his previous order to unfreeze the funds.
Ali’s ruling followed legal action from organizations that contract with and receive funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department. His latest order applies to work completed before February 13, the date of his initial temporary restraining order.
This marks the third time Judge Ali has instructed the administration to release foreign aid funds, which were frozen after President Trump’s 90-day pause on all foreign assistance. The freeze disrupted global humanitarian aid efforts and drew sharp criticism from advocacy groups and lawmakers.