Federal Appeals Court Allows Trump Admin To Withhold Billions In Foreign Aid Funds

A federal appeals court on Wednesday allowed the Trump administration to block billions of dollars in foreign aid funds.

The legislative branch’s Government Accountability Office (GAO) must bring challenges to administration decisions to withhold funding, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals found in a 2-1 decision.

“Radical left dark-money groups have been using the court system to seize control of U.S. foreign policy,” an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) spokesperson said in a statement to the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation. “Today’s decision stops these private groups from maliciously interfering with the President’s ability to spend responsibly and administer foreign aid in a lawful manner and in alignment with his America First policies.”

The majority blocked an injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Amir Ali in March that required the administration to restore the frozen funds. A group of grant recipients initially sued in February over President Donald Trump’s day-one executive order directing the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to pause