On the 13th (local time), a U.S. federal court ordered the Trump administration to resume funding for overseas aid programs.
According to the U.S. political media outlet Politico, on that day, Judge Ali Amir of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a temporary injunction stating that "the Trump administration cannot cancel overseas aid contracts that were ongoing since the previous administration and must continue funding." He further pointed out, "President Trump's actions have shaken the trust foundation and caused shock regarding thousands of contracts with corporations, nonprofit organizations, and others, yet the government has so far failed to present any rationale for these measures."
Earlier, on the 20th of last month, President Trump issued an executive order to suspend spending for 90 days while evaluating whether overseas aid programs align with U.S. foreign policy. Accordingly, the Department of State, the responsible agency, sent guidelines on the 24th of the same month to all overseas missions to freeze related expenditures. As a result, organizations operating under U.S. overseas aid programs claimed that the government's actions caused widespread damage and confusion, and filed lawsuits against President Trump and the Department of State.
Judge Amir's order came following a previous court intervention against the Trump administration's attempt to dismantle the overseas aid agency, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). On the 7th, Judge Carl Nichols of the same court sided with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and others who filed a lawsuit opposing the Trump administration's restructuring plan that effectively aimed to abolish USAID, ordering the government to halt part of its implementation plan.
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