Judge Again Orders Trump Admin to Unfreeze Foreign Aid, Stops Short of Contempt

The judge said administration officials must lift a temporary 90-day freeze on foreign aid, in line with a February court order.

An American flag and USAID flag fly outside the USAID building in Washington on Feb. 1, 2025. Annabelle Gordon/Reuters

A federal judge ordered federal government officials on Feb. 20 to comply with his earlier order to lift a freeze on nearly all foreign aid, though he stopped short of holding them in contempt of court.

U.S. District Judge Amir Ali said administration officials—including those from the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Office of Management and Budget, and their agents—had instead “come up with a new, post-hoc rationalization for the en masse suspension” of funding.