Critical Win In Lawsuit Against Trump Admin Over Foreign Aid Funding

February 13, 2025

Critical Win In Lawsuit Against Trump Admin Over Foreign Aid Funding

WASHINGTON, D.C. - This evening, a federal district court grantedour motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Trump administration's wholesale freeze on foreign assistance funding. The order lifts the freeze and restores funding while our lawsuitagainst the administration moves forward.

The court order directs the administration not to suspend, pause, or otherwise prevent the obligation or disbursement of appropriated foreign-assistance funds in connection with any contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, loans, or other federal foreign assistance award that was in existence as of January 19, 2025. It also bars the administration from issuing, implementing, enforcing, or otherwise giving effect to terminations, suspensions, or stop-work orders in connection with any contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, loans, or other federal foreign assistance award that was in existence as of January 19, 2025.

"This order is not just an enormous victory for our clients. It is a victory for the world," said Lauren Bateman, a lawyer at Public Citizen Litigation Groupand lead counsel on the case. "Life-saving humanitarian work can resume, and thousands of American jobs will be saved. It is not hyperbole to say that this order saves lives."