Frozen foreign aid: US judge increases pressure on Trump

ntv.de Frozen foreign aid: US judge increases pressure on Trump 3 hours • 2 minutes reading time Two weeks ago, a judge ordered the US government to release frozen foreign aid. Washington has not yet complied with this request - although the financial freeze is already having negative consequences. Now the judge has set a tight deadline. Trump is turning the USA upside down. The aid organization USAID was one of his first victims. The US government continues to resist a court order to at least temporarily release billions in frozen foreign aid. Federal judge Amir H. Ali announced this on Tuesday (local time) and gave the White House less than two days to comply with his order of February 13. Around two weeks ago, Amir had ordered that the government should lift the freeze on foreign aid for the time being. However, employees of the US development aid agency USAID, companies and aid organizations reported that no funds had yet been paid out. Immediately after taking office on January 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that he said was aimed at combating wasteful aid programs that were not in line with his foreign policy goals. As a result, aid for projects abroad organized through USAID and the US State Department was blocked, prompting non-governmental organizations to file a lawsuit. They argued that the funding freeze violated federal law. Even the most important life-saving programs were denied financial support. WHO complains about missing US millions for aid operations in Gaza Hundreds of millions of US dollars, the payment of which had been contractually agreed in advance, were also frozen, complained USAID and partner companies of the US State Department. The cutbacks have forced tens of thousands of employees to be laid off, and some organizations are facing financial ruin. During a hearing, Federal Judge Ali repeatedly asked the government's lawyer whether the White House was complying with his order, but the lawyer evaded the question. Defense attorney Indraneel Sur simply said he was not in a position to answer the question. The organizations then asked Ali to sue the Trump administration for ignoring the previous court order. This is the second time that a judge has found that the White House is not complying with an order. Federal judge John McConnell recently complained that the government had not complied with his order to release frozen federal grants and loans. Weeks ago, he had overturned comprehensive plans to suspend trillions of dollars in public spending.