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    February 14, 2025 Federal Government

    ABA wins Temporary Restraining Order in USAID, State Department funding lawsuit

    U.S. District Judge Amir Ali in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 13 temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order cutting funding for foreign assistance programs administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Department of State in response to a lawsuit by a coalition of organizations including the American Bar Association.

    The ABA on Feb. 11 filed a lawsuit with seven co-plaintiffs, a broad array of USAID and U.S. Department of State grantees and contractors, challenging the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign assistance funding (Global Health Council, et al. v. Trump, et al., No. 1:25-cv-00402 (D.D.C)).

    The Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) allows foreign assistance programs, including those of the ABA, to continue while the lawsuit proceeds.

    The TRO blocks the government from taking actions that would disrupt U.S. foreign assistance programs including:

    • Suspending, pausing, or otherwise preventing the obligation or disbursement of appropriated foreign-assistance funds in connection with any contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, loans, or other federal foreign assistance award that was in existence as of January 19, 2025; or
    • Issuing, implementing, enforcing, or otherwise giving effect to terminations, suspensions, or stop-work orders in connection with any contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, loans, or other federal foreign assistance award that was in existence as of January 19, 2025.

    “The actions of the president and other executive branch officials to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which was established by Congress to administer billions of dollars of foreign assistance funding, is unprecedented. The American Bar Association cannot overstate the impact of this unlawful course of conduct. This administration seeks to halt funding even though Congress has authorized and appropriated it for the programs in question,” said William R. Bay, president of the American Bar Association.

    Through its partnership with USAID, the U.S. Department of State, and other agencies, the ABA trains lawyers and judges around the world in their efforts to create functioning and fair justice systems.

    “A strong rule of law and participatory democracies around the world create more favorable environments for U.S. interests and enhance the viability of global markets,” Bay said. “The ABA strengthens legal institutions, supports legal professionals and advances public understanding and appreciation for the law. In doing so, these programs help reduce and prevent illicit activities such as drug and human trafficking and money laundering from reaching American shores.”

    Bay added: “Every administration has the right to review ongoing programs and set priorities, but those actions must be carried out in compliance with relevant constitutional and statutory requirements. There is a right way and a wrong way to do this. We have filed a suit to ensure that changes are consistent with the rule of law. The sudden dismantling of USAID has real-world consequences that cause harm not only to those we serve but also to those who serve others.”

    The ABA is one of the largest voluntary associations of lawyers in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law. View our privacy statement online. Follow the latest ABA news at www.americanbar.org/news and on X (formerly Twitter) @ABANews.