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Left inset: President Donald Trump speaks after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Right inset: Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein). Background: The seal of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) headquarters in Washington, DC, Monday, February 10, 2025. (Photo by Oliver Contreras/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)
Plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking to restore funding for the nation’s foreign aid program say that President Donald Trump‘s orders to cancel USAID contracts and suspend grants are accelerating, “exacerbating the irreparable harm Plaintiffs are currently suffering,” and requested that a federal judge take immediate action.
In an emergency notice in support of a motion for a temporary restraining order filed Wednesday, the plaintiffs with Global Health Council said that since they filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on Tuesday morning, their lawyers have received information that members of the Trump administration are “accelerating their terminations of contracts and suspensions of grants,” which is “exacerbating the irreparable harm Plaintiffs are currently suffering,” the filing says.
The plaintiffs allege the defendants’ actions may be in response to their lawsuit and the pending motion, they added.
“Shortly after the filing of this lawsuit, multiple Plaintiffs (and members of Plaintiffs’ organizations) received new purported termination notices, including yesterday and this morning,” the document said (emphasis in original). “Plaintiffs therefore request that the Court either immediately enter their proposed temporary restraining order or set a hearing on the pending motion today, at the earliest opportunity.”
U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, a Joe Biden appointee, heard arguments on the request Wednesday afternoon and indicated an order would be issued in the evening.
This legal challenge is another court fight against “a series of unconstitutional and illegal actions” by the President that has “systematically dismantled” USAID by freezing funding for foreign assistance and laying off or furloughing thousands of employees.
Another lawsuit, filed recently by labor unions, seeks to have a judge order the Trump administration to reverse its “unlawful actions” and prohibit it from taking additional steps to dissolve the agency without congressional authorization.
“President Trump’s actions to dissolve USAID exceed presidential authority and usurp legislative authority conferred upon Congress by the Constitution, in violation of the separation of powers,” that lawsuit states. “These actions have generated a global humanitarian crisis by abruptly halting the crucial work of USAID employees, grantees, and contractors. They have cost thousands of American jobs. And they have imperiled U.S. national security interests.”
In that case, U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, issued a temporary restraining order calling for all USAID employees currently on administrative leave to be reinstated until another hearing on Friday. The employees will be given complete access to email, payment, and security notification systems until then. No additional employees shall be placed on administrative leave before that date, the order said, and no USAID employees are to be evacuated from their host countries before Friday.
Trump targeted USAID when he returned to office for the second time. On Jan. 26, the U.S. State Department issued a statement that it is “Implementing the President’s Executive Order on Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid.” The statement said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and USAID for review.
“He is initiating a review of all foreign assistance programs to ensure they are efficient and consistent with U.S. foreign policy under the America First agenda,” the statement said. “President Trump stated clearly that the United States is no longer going to blindly dole out money with no return for the American people. Reviewing and realigning foreign assistance on behalf of hardworking taxpayers is not just the right thing to do, it is a moral imperative. The Secretary is proud to protect America’s investment with a deliberate and judicious review of how we spend foreign assistance dollars overseas.”
The news comes as Trump fired USAID’s inspector general after he put out a report criticizing the foreign aid freeze, Politico reported.
The website for USAID, meanwhile, is no longer accessible. The site is archived.
USAID was created by President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 3, 1961, to consolidate and streamline U.S. foreign aid programs, focusing on economic development, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief worldwide.
