Mar 11, 2025 - Politics & Policy

Judge holds Congress has power on foreign aid spending, not president

Rebecca Falconer

Tributes are placed beneath the covered seal of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) at their headquarters in Washington, DC, on February 7, 2025. — Tributes are placed beneath the covered seal of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., last month. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

A federal judge ruled President Trump does not have "unbounded power" on foreign aid and ordered his administration to pay some congressionally appropriated funds that USAID owes grant recipients and contractors.

Why it matters: "The constitutional power over whether to spend foreign aid is not the President's own — and it is Congress's own," wrote U.S. District Judge Amir Ali in an order partially granting a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's moves to gut USAID.

"The Court accordingly finds that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their separation of powers claims and rejects Defendants' unbridled understanding of the President's foreign policy power."
The order prevents the Trump administration from "unlawfully impounding congressionally appropriated foreign aid funds."

Driving the news: Ali's order means the Trump administration must pay grants or contracts for work completed through Feb. 13, the date of his initial temporary restraining order in the case.

"Defendants have yet to offer any explanation, let alone one supported by the record, for why a blanket suspension setting off a shockwave and upending reliance interests for thousands of businesses and organizations around the country was a rational precursor to reviewing programs," the Biden appointee wrote.

Yes, but: Ali said he's "mindful of limitations" on the court's authority and so did not order payments for future work or for the restoration of canceled contracts.

State of play: The judge ordered the Trump administration "to process roughly 1,200 payments to Plaintiffs over the course of a four-day period, or roughly 300 payments per day."

It's estimated this equates to $1.9 billion in funds that were frozen by the Trump administration, and Ali's earlier order set a deadline of 6pm Monday for it to pay back some $670 million.

What they're saying: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X earlier Monday the Trump administration was canceling 83% of USAID programs following a six-week review.

"In consultation with Congress, we intend for the remaining 18% of programs we are keeping (approximately 1000) to now be administered more effectively under the State Department," said Rubio, USAID's acting administrator, thanking DOGE staff for working on this "overdue and historic reform."

Flashback: USAID must pay nearly $2 billion in contracts, Supreme Court says

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Judge holds Congress has power on foreign aid spending, not president

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