USAID contractors demand that the Trump administration be held in contempt of court for freezing funding
Kyiv • UNN
A coalition of USAID contractors has filed a lawsuit over the failure to comply with the decision to lift the funding freeze. The Trump administration continues to block payments on thousands of grants despite a court injunction.
A coalition of contractors and nonprofit organizations that work with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and believe that President Trump's executive order to freeze foreign aid could cause irreparable damage to their operations has asked a federal judge to find the Trump administration guilty of civil contempt of court. This is reported by The Hill, UNN.
Details
It is noted that the appeal was filed after the Trump administration stated in court documents that it was not paying out funds for thousands of grants and foreign aid contracts, despite a judge's ruling to lift the funding freeze.
This court should not tolerate such blatant disobedience to its clearly defined decision
According to the newspaper, the contractors filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration earlier this month, claiming that they collectively expect hundreds of millions of dollars in back payments from the government. Two other nonprofit organizations filed a separate complaint, arguing that Trump's executive order violates the separation of powers and has caused irreparable harm to their operations, which rely heavily on USAID funding.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ordered the government to temporarily halt the termination of foreign aid contracts and grants entered into before Trump returned to the White House. He also prohibited the administration from issuing or enforcing orders to terminate, suspend, or suspend the performance of contracts that were entered into before Inauguration Day
However, on Tuesday evening, the Trump administration said in court documents that maintaining the aid freeze did not contradict the judge's ruling. They cited a clause in the decision that states that “nothing in this order prohibits defendants from performing the terms of contracts and grants.
The administration stated that it had been “working in good faith” to comply with the court order and had “not identified” any cases of termination or suspension of work under USAID contracts that would be prohibited by the court order.
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Contractors and non-profit organizations called the statement “astonishing,” expressing outrage that the government considers it legal to cut off almost all foreign aid despite an “unequivocal” court ruling.
According to the newspaper, they also drew attention to Trump's February 15 post on social media, where he wrote: “Anyone who saves his country does not break any law,” which, in their opinion, is evidence that the president is deliberately ignoring his obligations to abide by the US Constitution and laws.
Here, the defendants are clearly in violation of the interim court order
The plaintiffs urged the judge to order the administration to immediately comply with the court's decision and pay the funds to the recipients of foreign aid, as well as to find it guilty of civil contempt of court.
Recall
On January 20, Donald Trump signed an executive order to temporarily suspend all US foreign aid programs for 90 days pending reviews to determine whether they meet his policy goals. This affected USAID, the U.S. Agency for International Development, founded in 1961.
USAID's Ukraine office received an order to halt all projects and expenditures after the US State Department's order.
Elon Musk, the new head of the US government's Office of Management and Budget, called USAID a criminal organization. According to him, the agency funded biological weapons research, including COVID-19.
Labor unions have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its attempt to disband USAID and furlough 10,000 employees. The plaintiffs argue that the president's actions are unconstitutional and will lead to a humanitarian catastrophe.
Donald Trump claimed “unprecedented levels of corruption” in USAID and called for the agency to be disbanded. The president did not provide evidence of corruption, and labor unions filed a lawsuit against his attempt to dissolve the organization.
D.C. Circuit Judge Amir Ali has ruled to temporarily lift the freeze on U.S. foreign aid funding. This is the second judicial defeat of the White House's attempts to eliminate USAID, which has existed for 60 years.