Judge orders Trump administration to temporarily lift funding freeze on US foreign aid

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to temporarily lift the suspension of funding for US aid and development programs overseas.

The Government Efficiency Department's judge, Amir Ali, made the ruling on Thursday in a court case brought by companies that get funding from the US.

Disheartened international aid workers and beneficiaries.

Ali said the Trump administration didn't consider the "extraordinary damage" caused by suddenly freezing foreign aid, which would have a "catastrophic impact" on humanitarian missions.

The judge also had a go at the administration's lack of explanation "for why a blanket suspension of all congressionally appropriated foreign aid" was imposed.

Ali mentioned that the move "caused a huge ripple effect and disrupted the reliance on agreements with thousands of businesses, charities and organisations across the country."

The State Department's contractors worldwide are being told to stop providing humanitarian aid and other forms of assistance, and to let go of their staff, crippling a large portion of the world's emergency relief networks.

It was met with jubilation from Lauren Bateman, a lawyer from the Public Citizen Litigation Group and the lead counsel on the case.

This order's not just a huge win for our clients. It's a win for the world," Bateman said in a statement. "Life-saving humanitarian work can get back on track, and thousands of Aussie jobs will be secured. It's no exaggeration to say this order saves lives.

The order allowing funds to flow again applies to existing contracts prior to Trump issuing his January 20 executive order that put a freeze on foreign aid.

The US president labelled most US aid as not aligning with his policy agenda.

Earlier on Thursday, a judge in a separate case involving the Trump administration's decision to dismantle USAID and US aid programs overseas said that his order blocking the Trump administration's plans to send home nearly all USAID staff from their jobs worldwide will remain in place for at least another week.

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Half (49 per cent) of all respondents said they didn't agree with stopping all US aid to other countries straight away, while a third supported this action, and 17 per cent weren't sure.

More broadly, the majority of respondents (51 percent) reckon the US should keep sending aid overseas, while just 25 percent disagreed, according to the exclusive poll conducted on February 3.

AP contributed to reporting

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