Federal judge orders Trump administration to release withheld foreign aid

ISTANBUL

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration must distribute millions of dollars to several nonprofit groups, saying the government had violated the terms of a temporary restraining order issued two weeks earlier blocking the suspension of foreign aid.

Judge Amir Ali, appointed during the Biden era, sharply criticized Trump administration lawyers for failing to compensate these groups for work completed before President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order freezing foreign aid for 90 days. He reaffirmed his Feb. 13 restraining order, requiring payment by 11.59 p.m. Wednesday, as reported by ABC News.

The Jan. 20 order was controversial and sent shockwaves to groups providing aid worldwide. Aid groups have fought the order fiercely, saying the Trump administration lacks the authority to cut off funds approved by the US Congress, which under the Constitution has the “power of the purse.”

At Tuesday’s two-hour hearing, Ali said the plaintiffs provided evidence showing the government had "not lifted the suspension or freeze of funds" as required by the temporary restraining order. He added that the government had "not rebutted that evidence" and failed to give "any specific examples of unfreezing funds” under the court’s restraining order when asked.

Justice Department lawyers admitted that the Trump administration disregarded the order, which barred them from freezing foreign aid funds. However, they argued that repayment should not be required, citing “sovereign immunity,” the argument that the sovereign of a state can commit no wrong. A sovereign would usually be a king or queen, not the US president, whose power is constitutionally constrained by the checks and balances of the courts and Congress.

Judge presses for 'straight answer' from government

During a sometimes heated exchange with Ali, a government lawyer had difficulty answering questions about the Trump administration’s compliance with the temporary restraining order, which barred the freezing of funds.

"I'm not sure why I can't get a straight answer from you on this," Ali said sharply. "Are you aware of an unfreezing of the disbursement of funds for those contracts and agreements that were frozen before February 13? Are you aware of steps taken to actually release those funds?"

The lawyer responded: "I'm not in a position to answer that."

Voicing frustration, Ali pressed further: "We're 12 days in (from the order) and you're here representing the government ... and you can't answer me whether any funds that you've kind of acknowledged are covered by the court's order have been unfrozen?"

The lawyer tried to deflect, saying that “preparations are underway” for a report on the government’s compliance.

Later in the hearing, when the lawyer tried to justify the administration’s failure to comply, Ali shot back that the terms of the order were “clear as day.”

He added that Tuesday’s hearing was meant to understand and hear arguments on the motion to enforce the restraining order, not to re-litigate the order.

The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal later Tuesday.

A lawyer representing the nonprofits accused the Trump administration of ignoring the court order by failing to take any steps to release the funds. The court’s discussion with the government showed they had “done nothing to make the flow of payments happen” and stressed that, as far as they knew, “zero directives” had been issued to unfreeze the funds.