A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to slash nearly $12 billion in foreign aid that Congress previously approved.
US District Judge Amir Ali, a Biden appointee, ruled that the White House violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the main law Democrats have relied on to mount legal challenges against President Donald Trump’s policies.
The legal battle started when Trump issued an executive order shortly after taking office to “pause” all foreign aid. Several nonprofits, including the Global Health Council and the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, sued the administration, arguing that the order violated the law and threatened their operations overseas.
Judge Ali agreed, arguing that the administration’s failure to spend the funds “is contrary to law in violation of the APA” and was “arbitrary and capricious.”
The judge noted that Congress explicitly directed the executive branch to spend these funds under the 2024 appropriations act. It designated funds for global health initiatives, democracy programs, and disaster assistance. However, the Trump administration refused to spend the money and allowed the funds to expire without congressional approval. Ali claimed the administration did not provide any justification to “displace the bedrock expectation that Congress’s appropriations must be followed.”
Ali further stated that withholding the funds was “completely independent of whether Defendants have complied or failed to comply with the ICA’s requirements.”
NEW: Biden-appointed Judge Amir Ali has blocked Trump from slashing nearly $12 billion in U.S. foreign aid. pic.twitter.com/prHE35PC0S
— The Age Of Genz (@TheAgeOfGenZ) September 4, 2025
The judge rejected the administration’s arguments that the rescissions package passed earlier this year meant that federal agencies were not obligated to distribute the funds. Ali wrote, “absent Congress acting to rescind the appropriations, nothing in the ICA permits Defendants to withhold congressionally appropriated funds to run out the clock.”
He granted preliminary injunctions and partial summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs, insisting that they had legal standing because the freeze jeopardized their funding and missions.
“This case raises questions of immense legal and practical importance, including whether there is any avenue to test the executive branch’s decision not to spend congressionally appropriated funds,” Ali wrote.
The Trump administration appealed Ali’s ruling on Thursday, according to Reuters. This case will likely go to the Supreme Court to determine whether the executive branch has the authority to unilaterally cut foreign aid.
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