Judge Gives US Admin Ultimatum to Release Billions in Frozen Foreign Aid

A federal judge on Tuesday gave the Trump administration less than two days to release billions of dollars in US foreign aid, saying the administration had given no sign of complying with his nearly two-week-old court order to ease its funding freeze.

- Agencies

WASHINGTON:

The lawsuit was filed by non-profit organizations over the cutoff of foreign assistance through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and State Department, which followed a January 20 executive order by President Donald Trump targeting what he portrayed as wasteful programs that do not correspond to his foreign policy goals.

Non-profit groups and businesses that receive federal money for work abroad said the freeze breaks federal law and has shut down funding for even the most urgent life-saving programs abroad.