Court Greenlights Trump’s Foreign Aid Freeze

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has lifted an injunction that compelled the State Department to resume foreign aid payments, delivering a significant victory for President Trump. The 2-1 decision by the three-judge panel found that the lower court had erred in ordering the administration to restore aid previously approved by Congress.

Trump had implemented a 90-day pause on all foreign aid coinciding with his second inauguration, followed by efforts to curtail USAID operations. Two nonprofits claimed the funding freeze was unlawful, but Judge Karen Henderson, writing for the majority, dismissed these claims due to the plaintiffs lacking a cause of action.

The ruling highlighted that only the Government Accountability Office could challenge the president's aid efforts. While Judge Florence Pan dissented, arguing the administration was breaching the Constitution's separation of powers, a White House spokesperson praised the decision as preventing interference with Trump's America First policies.

(With inputs from agencies.)