Federal judges in Washington, D.C. and Seattle ordered the administration to restart hundreds of millions of dollars in payments for foreign aid, blocked the administration from freezing federal grants and loans, and temporarily struck down the president’s executive order suspending refugee admissions.
Meanwhile, another Biden-appointed federal judge in D.C. reprimanded government lawyers who could not appear to answer whether the administration paid foreign assistance contractors and nonprofit organizations for work that had already been performed before coming to a screeching halt, sparking global chaos among foreign aid workers and the people they serve.
And in Washington state, Biden-appointed District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead temporarily blocked Trump’s sweeping ban on refugee admissions by granting a preliminary injunction that orders the administration to restart a refugee resettlement program while the legal challenge plays out.
“Defendants either wanted to pause up to $3 trillion in federal spending practically overnight, or they expected each federal agency to review every single one of its grants, loans, and funds for compliance in less than 24 hours,” she wrote.
“We’re now 12 days in [after the order], and you can’t answer to me whether any funds you acknowledge are covered by the court’s order are unfrozen?” said District Judge Amir Ali.
