A federal appeals court has handed a major legal victory to President Donald Trump, lifting an injunction that had forced his administration to resume foreign aid payments.
In a 2-1 ruling on Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned a lower court’s decision requiring the State Department to release nearly $2 billion in aid to humanitarian partners worldwide. The aid had been approved by Congress before Trump, on January 20 the day of his second inauguration issued an executive order imposing a 90-day freeze on all foreign aid.
Following the order, the administration took steps to significantly scale back the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), including placing much of its staff on leave and exploring a plan to fold the independent agency into the State Department.
The freeze sparked lawsuits from two non-profit organizations, the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and the Journalism Development Network, both of which rely on U.S. federal funding. They argued that Trump’s pause was unlawful and undermined vital humanitarian work.
In February, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, a Biden appointee, sided with the nonprofits, ruling that the administration must restore the funding. But the appeals court disagreed, finding that the groups “lack a cause of action to press their claims,” according to the majority opinion written by Circuit Judge Karen Henderson, a Reagan appointee. Henderson was joined by Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas, appointed by Trump.
Importantly, the ruling did not resolve whether Trump’s foreign aid freeze itself violated the Constitution by infringing on Congress’s spending power. Instead, the majority concluded that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing needed to secure the injunction.
In a sharp dissent, Circuit Judge Florence Pan, a Biden appointee, accused her colleagues of enabling executive overreach. “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,” she wrote.
The decision leaves Trump free, for now, to continue withholding foreign aid as his administration reviews U.S. assistance programs a move critics say threatens global humanitarian and development efforts. The nonprofits have not yet indicated whether they will appeal to the Supreme Court.