Tonight, the U.S District Court in the District of Columbia has issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), on the Executive Order on Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid, and the subsequent “stop-work order” issued by Secretary Rubio. The ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed by Global Health Council, alongside the Small Business Association for International Companies, HIAS, Management Sciences for Health, Chemonics International, DAI Global, Democracy International, and the American Bar Association.

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. 

As the plaintiffs’ complaint outlined, by attempting to dismantle an independent agency established by Congress and unlawfully withholding billions in foreign-assistance funding, the Administration has forced businesses large and small to shutter programs and lay off employees. These actions have caused widespread harm, weakening the infrastructure needed to combat mounting global health crises including bird flu, measles, and drug-resistant tuberculosis—diseases that have surfaced in the U.S.—and leaving hungry children without food, vulnerable populations without critical medical aid, and communities without life-saving support.

“This ruling is a vital first step toward restoring U.S. foreign assistance programs,” said Elisha Dunn-Georgiou, President of Global Health Council. “It clears the path for organizations to resume their life saving work, showcasing the best of American values: compassion, leadership, and a commitment to global health, stability, and shared prosperity.” 

Read the TRO here.