Nelson Morales

A worker removes the U.S. Agency for International Development sign on their headquarters on February 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images/AFP

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 07: A worker removes the U.S. Agency for International Development sign on their headquarters on February 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) abruptly shutdown the U.S. aid agency earlier this week leaving thousands unemployed and putting U.S. foreign diplomacy and aid programs in limbo.   Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Article (news)

USAID Signage Is Covered Up At Their Washington Headquarters

Agence France-Presse

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/173953524013720250214110256_CoveredUpAtTheirWashingtonHead.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="A worker removes the U.S. Agency for International Development sign on their headquarters on February 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images/AFP"/>A worker removes the U.S. Agency for International Development sign on their headquarters on February 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images/AFP </div>A federal judge has temporarily lifted a freeze on funding to US aid and development programs ordered by President Donald Trump&#x27;s administration, court documents seen by AFP on Friday showed.Judge Amir Ali, who was appointed by Joe Biden in November, prohibited the Trump administration from &quot;suspending, pausing, or otherwise preventing&quot; foreign assistance funds, according to Thursday&#x27;s ruling.The Trump administration has frozen foreign aid funding, ordered thousands of internationally based staff to return to the United States and begun slashing the US Agency for International Development (USAID) headcount of 10,000 employees to around only 300.This has put the work of USAID in some of the world&#x27;s poorest countries in doubt. The agency has a budget of $42.8 billion, representing 42 percent of humanitarian aid disbursed worldwide.The new court order also stops the government from &quot;issuing, implementing, enforcing, or otherwise giving effect to terminations, suspensions, or stop-work orders&quot; in relation to existing contracts as of January 19, 2025.The ruling said that the &quot;stated purpose in implementing the suspension of all foreign aid is to provide the opportunity to review programs for their efficiency and consistency with priorities.&quot;&quot;However, at least to date, Defendants have not offered any explanation for why a blanket suspension of all congressionally appropriated foreign aid, which set off a shockwave and upended reliance interests for thousands of agreements with businesses, nonprofits, and organizations around the country, was a rational precursor to reviewing programs,&quot; it said.The plaintiffs in the case are or represent groups of small and large businesses and health and journalistic nonprofits that receive federal grant money to perform foreign assistance work.- &#x27;Woodchipper&#x27; -Trump, who began his second term last month, has launched a campaign led by his top donor Elon Musk, the world&#x27;s richest man, to downsize or dismantle swaths of the US government.The most concentrated fire has been on USAID, the primary organization for distributing US humanitarian aid around the world with health and emergency programs in around 120 countries.Trump has said USAID was &quot;run by radical lunatics&quot; and Musk has described it as a &quot;criminal organisation&quot; needing to be put &quot;through the woodchipper.&quot;Newly confirmed Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that USAID, founded by his uncle, slain president John F. Kennedy, has become a &quot;sinister propagator of totalitarianism.&quot;Trump fired the independent inspector general for USAID this week, US media outlets reported.Paul Martin&#x27;s dismissal came a day after his office issued a report critical of the Trump administration&#x27;s efforts to dismantle the agency, the Washington Post, CNN and others reported.

A federal judge has temporarily lifted a freeze on funding to US aid and development programs ordered by President Donald Trump's administration, court documents seen by AFP on Friday showed.

A federal judge has temporarily lifted a freeze on funding to US aid and development programs ordered by President Donald Trump's administration, court documents seen by AFP on Friday showed.

Judge lifts funding freeze on US aid programs

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Judge lifts funding freeze on US aid programs

Agence France-Presse

Published February 14, 2025 08:14 PM PHT

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USAID

Donald Trump

Elon Musk

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