A worker removes the U.S. Agency for International Development sign on their headquarters on Feb. 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
Ali said the limits of the case, which focuses solely on projects completed before Feb. 13, prevent him from ordering the administration to make payments on other work, or ordering the reinstatement of other contracts.
As of last Friday, that amount owed by the government stood at around $671 million. It is unclear whether additional payments have been made, though Ali ordered the plaintiffs to file a joint status report by March 14 appraising the court of the Trump administration's compliance with the order.
Volunteers at the Zanzalima Camp for Internally Displaced People unload 50 kilogram saks of Wheat flour that were a part of an aid delivery from USAID on December 17, 2021 in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. (J. Countess/Getty Images)
Ali had previously ordered the Trump administration to pay all owed foreign aid funds for previously completed work, totaling $1.9 billion, by Feb. 26 at 11:59 p.m.
The Supreme Court took up the case for emergency review last week, but ruled 5-4 to reject the administration's request to extend the freeze. Instead, the court remanded the case back to the D.C. federal court, and Ali to hash out the specifics of what must be paid, and when.
But the bulk of last week's hearing in D.C. federal court, which stretched on for more than four hours, focused largely on the government's role and review of all foreign aid contractors and grants, which Trump administration lawyers told Ali they had already completed and made final decisions for.
Lawyers were also pressed over whether the Trump administration can legally move to terminate projects whose funds are allocated and appropriated by Congress – something Ali referenced specifically in his ruling.
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"The provision and administration of foreign aid has been a joint enterprise between our two political branches," he said. "That partnership is built not out of convenience, but of constitutional necessity."
These arguments – and the ruling from Ali – could eventually kick the issue back up to the Supreme Court, should the government move to appeal any part of the memo or the allegations.
Breanne Deppisch is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI, and other national news.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-judge-orders-trump-administration-pay-unlawfully-restricted-usaid-funds