A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Monday declined to order the Trump administration to restore thousands of foreign aid contracts and grants that have been canceled since President Donald Trump took office.
But U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, a Joe Biden appointee, found the administration must accelerate payments of close to $2 billion for already completed work.
The ruling by Ali is a setback for organizations that contract with or receive grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department and are suing the administration over its freeze in January of nearly all of its foreign aid payments and termination of most of its agreements with third-party partners.
At the same time, Ali ruled against the Trump administration on a major legal issue, finding that the president cannot refuse to spend money appropriated by Congress.
The judge said that all of the appropriated foreign aid funding must ultimately be disbursed, while concluding that he could not dictate exactly how.
The White House, State Department and attorneys for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
© 2025 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.