US court gives Trump administration less than 2 days to renew foreign aid

A federal court in the United States gave President Donald Trump's administration less than two days to resume funding for international aid, accusing it of failing to comply with a previous order to unfreeze the funds. This is reported by RIA Novosti with reference to the Associated Press.

In mid-February, the District Court for the District of Columbia obliged the White House to lift the lock on the frozen programs. The judges noted that the suspension of funding was explained by the review of programs for effectiveness, but the administration never justified why a complete ban on all congressionally approved aid was necessary.

“Defendants have offered no explanation as to why the total suspension of all congressionally appropriated foreign aid, which sent shock waves and upended the interests of thousands of agreements, was a rational precursor to program review,” the court ruling said.

As AP notes, despite the Feb. 13 ruling, USAID and the nonprofits say they have not received a single confirmed payment.

According to National Public Radio (NPR), the district judge required the government to fully comply with the ruling by Wednesday evening.

The funding freeze was imposed by Trump immediately after taking office on Jan. 20. He signed an executive order suspending international development assistance for 90 days to assess the programs' compliance with U.S. foreign policy.

Reprinted from https://am.sputniknews.ru/