In a court filing on February 26, the Trump administration said it had made a final decision to terminate most US foreign aid contracts.
The administration insists it cannot meet a judge's request to "unlock" billions of dollars in foreign aid that has been approved but frozen.
The administration will cut more than 90 percent of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)'s foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in total U.S. aid around the world , according to an internal memo.
The response came after a federal judge gave the Trump administration less than two days to release billions of dollars in foreign aid.
Initially, Judge Amir H. Ali of the District Court of Columbia (USA) on February 13 issued a temporary restraining order (TRO), requiring the administration of President Donald Trump to release the budget for loans and contracts that were frozen by the President's order.
On February 25, Judge Ali accused the Trump administration of showing no signs of complying with the order, so he ruled that the White House must release all the aid money by 11:59 p.m. local time on February 26.
During a hearing last week, U.S. government lawyers argued the administration was complying with the TRO, saying it allowed them to cancel and question contracts while they were being reviewed.
In court filings, they said the review process was complete, with USAID deciding to cancel nearly 5,800 grant contracts, while retaining more than 500, and the State Department canceling about 4,100 contracts, while retaining about 2,700.
Grounds for terminating contracts include whether they are related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts or are deemed wasteful. Trump has taken a hard line on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. He signed an executive order on his second day in office directing federal agency directors to dismantle DEI policies.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which includes nongovernmental organizations and companies with government contracts, say they have had to lay off employees, suspend programs, and are at risk of shutting down entirely due to President Trump's aid freeze.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced it was freezing most foreign aid and considering merging the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) into the State Department.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also Acting Director of USAID, affirmed that the US is not completely stopping foreign aid but is only temporarily freezing it for 90 days to consider reforming the agency.
The United States is now the world's largest humanitarian aid provider. In fiscal year 2023, USAID provided more than $40 billion in aid to about 130 countries.
The US government said on February 23 that it would put all but a small number of USAID employees worldwide on paid administrative leave and cut about 2,000 positions in the US.
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