Legal battles and advocacy efforts intensified to combat the chaos and devastation left in the wake of the Trump administration’s foreign aid freeze and other executive actions.
In response to the lawsuit filed on behalf of member Global Health Council and several U.S. organizations, a federal judge yesterday (February 13) issued a temporary order halting the Trump administration’s efforts to terminate foreign aid contracts and grants that were established before President Trump’s 2025 inauguration. This is a significant legal win for USAID implementing partners.
This ruling also prevents the administration from implementing terminations, suspensions, or stop-work orders related to these existing foreign aid awards. However, the judge’s order does not prevent President Trump from enforcing a separate executive order that freezes foreign assistance for 90 days pending a review. (NYTimes, Global Health Council, Devex and KFF)
“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.”
Other lawsuits and advocacy efforts continue as millions globally face the loss of essential humanitarian aid and implementers of USAID’s global programs are at the brink of collapse, triggering mass layoffs and furloughs. Communications and operations at the HHS and CDC also remain restricted. And sharp cuts to U.S. biomedical research could be at stake as a result of the National Institutes of Health (“NIH,” the world’s largest biomedical research institution) cap on indirect costs.
Here’s a brief recap based on the reporting of KFF, Devex, Global Health Technologies Coalition, Washington Post and other key sources. (see list below)
• On February 10, a Massachusetts court issued a temporary restraining order against the NIH cap on indirect costs following a lawsuit by 22 states, including California. The states contend that the cap contravenes clear Congressional directives in the federal budget. The court has set a hearing for February 21. Simultaneously, another lawsuit was filed by the Regents of the University of California and other universities, represented by the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and the American Council on Education. (Science)
• Also on February 10, Public Citizen filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) and Journalism Development Network, Inc. (JDN), seeking emergency relief from the freeze on funding for foreign assistance. (Bloomberg Law)
• On February 7, a federal judge halted the immediate administrative leave of 2,200 USAID employees and the plan to recall nearly all overseas workers within 30 days while also reinstating 500 employees previously placed on leave. However, the court did not address the funding freeze. This decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by Democracy Forward and Public Citizen Litigation Group, representing the American Foreign Service Association and American Federation of Government Employees. (KFF)
And on the Hill,
• The Senate confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on February 13.
• On February 11, U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) introduced legislation to prevent the dissolution of USAID and ban the use of government funds to dismantle or restructure the agency. (Devex)
• Two broader issues are affecting the entire U.S. government, not just global health. First, there’s an impending March 14 deadline to prevent a government shutdown, which Congress can avert by passing either a continuing resolution or a comprehensive funding package. Second, if the executive branch disregards court orders and Congress fails to intervene, the nation could face a constitutional crisis.
Other advocacy efforts:
• Alliance members CUGH (here and here), DNDi, GAIA, Global Health Corps, Global Health Council (here, here, here, here, and here), Global Health Technologies Coalition (here, here, and here), IDEO.org, Maya Health Alliance, MedShare, Nexleaf Analytics, North Carolina Global Health Alliance (here, here, here and here), PATH, Population Services International, Seed Global Health, San Francisco Community Health Center (here and here), Stanford (here, here, and here), UC Berkeley, UCGHI, and UCSF (here, here, and here) have spoken with the press or issued statements. You can use their talking points to contact your Congressional representatives. Find your representatives here.
• Partners the CORE Group, UN Foundation, and Unlock Aid are organizing additional advocacy efforts. Former USAID Administrators Samatha Power and Andrew Natsios, as well as Council on Foreign Relations’ Prashat Yadav and many others have powerful op-eds; see more in the sources below.
• Compiling the impact are GlobalAidFreeze.com and USAIDStopWork.com with a state-by-state analysis and a call to have your organization included.
Additional resources you may find helpful:
• Unlock Aid also held an “Ask Me Anything” webinar with their legal partners; the summary is here.
• Unlock Aid is establishing an emergency bridge fund, asking those who need funding to complete this form; they will share it with prospective funders.
• Tech Change is sharing a job board and resource curation for those impacted.
• Humentum offers resources for navigating the foreign assistance pause.
Thanks to those of you who completed our brief survey last week; if you would like to add your voice, please do so here. We are compiling the results and will share them with you next week.
Sources and What We Are Reading
February 23, 2025
- STAT I Trump Administration Rehires Some FDA Employees It Fired
- Devex I USAID to Cut 1,600 Staff, Place Nearly All Direct Hires on Leave
February 22, 2025
- Devex I Court Says Thousands of USAID Staff Can Be Put on Leave, Recalled
- ProPublica I They Worked to Prevent Death. The Trump Administration Fired Them.
- Washington Post I Scientists Warn of Long-Term Damage as Trump’s Orders Slow Research
February 21, 2025
- Devex | Court Extends Order Lifting Trump Administration’s Foreign Aid Freeze
- Politico I Economic Fallout from NIH Cost Cuts
- STAT I Federal Judge Extends Restraining Order on Trump Administration’s Cap on NIH Indirect Costs
- Inside Medicine I NIH Grant Delays: Bureaucratic Slowdown or More Intentional Obstruction? Plus, CDC Postpones Vaccine Meeting and Cancels a PR Campaign—What Does It All Mean?
- NPR I In Potential Showdown, Aid Groups Demand Court Find USAID, State Officials in Contempt
- NPR I A respected U.S. famine warning system is ‘currently unavailable.’ What’s the impact?
- Axios I SF Community Health Center: SF Community Groups Sue Trump Over Anti-Trans Executive Orders
- SF Chronicle I SF Community Health Center: SF Groups Challenge Anti-Trans Orders in Federal Court
February 20, 2025
- Devex I Court Filings Underscore Security Risks to USAID Staff Abroad
- Politico I Judge Says Trump Administration Made A ‘Mess’ of Plans for Overseas USAID Workers
- Devex I Lawsuit Seeks to Reinstate USAID Contractors, Claiming Irreparable Harm
- Devex I A Month After Stop-Work Order, Uganda’s HIV Response in Chaos
- KFF I The Outlook for PEPFAR in 2025 and Beyond
- STAT I HHS Orders CDC to Halt Some Vaccine Ads, Saying RFK Jr. Wants Message Focused on ‘Informed Consent’
- Politico I RFK Jr. Prepares Shake-Up of Vaccine Advisers
February 19, 2025
- CIDRAP I Amid Layoffs at HHS, Experts Warn About Impact on Public Health
- Politico I Friends of the Global Fight: Convincing the USG to Continue Spending on Infectious Diseases
- Devex I USAID Contracts and Grants Still Being Terminated Despite Court Order
- Devex I Anonymous USAID Employees, Contractors Sue Musk, DOGE
- Devex I As Climate Aid Dries Up, Experts Warn That Extremism is Likely to Rise
- The Telegraph I African Hospital Staff Laid off en Masse Amid Trump Aid Freeze
- Common Dreams I NC Global Health Alliance: Who Voted for This?
- News & Observer I FHI 360 I NC Global Health Alliance: Opinion I Destroying USAID Will Be a Disaster for NC & National Security
February 18, 2025
- US News & World Report I Layoffs Hit Many at CDC Lab Program That Was Started to Address Previous Failures
- Devex I USAID staff warned — talk to the press, risk being fired
- Business Insider I NC Global Health Alliance: Trump & Musk Froze USAID Funding to Put Americans First. US citizens Are Feeling the Impact.
February 17, 2025
- AP News I Trump Administration Cuts Reach FDA Employees in Food Safety, Medical Devices and Tobacco Products
- Devex I The Mess Inside Rubio’s ‘Lifesaving’ Waivers
February 14, 2025
- MedPage Today I Trump Slashes CDC Workforce
- Your Local Epidemiologist I RFK Jr. is Now HHS Secretary. What Comes Next?
- Politico I Aid Freeze and the Future of HIV Care
- STAT I STAT is Backing Up and Monitoring CDC Data in Real Time: See What’s Changing
- Inside Medicine I 950 Indian Health Service Employees Laid Off
- Inside Medicine I Half of CDC “Disease Detectives” Terminated. DOGE Takes Aim at US Disease Surveillance.
February 13, 2025
- Think Global Health | A “Defining Moment” for Global Health Funding
- STAT | Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Confirmed by Senate as U.S. Health Secretary
- NPR | RFK Jr. Confirmed as Trump’s Health Secretary, Over Democrats’ Loud Objections
- NYT | USAID Lifesaving Aid Remains Halted Despite Rubio’s Promise
- The Guardian | ‘A Fight for Our Lives’: Trump’s USAID Freeze Is Harming Millions of Women and Girls
- Roll Call | Republicans Defend USAID in Hearing Meant to Criticize Waste
- Devex I Judge Extends Reprieve for USAID Employees in Union Lawsuit
February 12, 2025
- Popular Information | Breaking: NIH Admits Funding Freeze Is Illegal, Will Resume Issuing Grants
- Devex | Major New Lawsuit Filed by USAID Contractors, NGOs Challenges Aid Freeze
- Devex | USAID’s Inspector General Fired With ‘No Reason Given’
- Devex | Scoop: USAID Kenya Partner Has ‘No Funds’ to Carry Out PEPFAR Waiver
- Devex | The Dismantling Continues: Hundreds of USAID Awards Terminated
- Devex | Democrats Introduce New Legislation to Protect USAID
- Devex | WHO Chief Eyes Idea of a $50B Endowment Fund to Plug Resource Gaps
- SF Examiner | Court Orders Don’t Calm UCSF Researchers’ Nerves
- Reuters | US Actions Have Serious Impact on Global Health, WHO Chief Says
February 11, 2025
- NPR | How the Gutting of USAID Is Reverberating Around the World: Worry, Despair, Praise
- The Hill | Democrats Unveil Legislation in Bid to Halt USAID Elimination
- Devex | How USAID’s Dismantling Could Impact Noncommunicable Diseases
- Devex | The End of USAID? For This Republican Aid Expert, It’s Too Early to Tell
- STAT | Judge Tells Agencies to Restore Webpages and Data Removed After Trump’s Executive Order
- STAT | Halt on Trump Administration’s Cuts to NIH Research Payments Expanded Nationwide
- Devex | WFP to Resume Food Aid Delivery After Halt Due to Us Stop-Work Order
- MedPage | Court Orders CDC, FDA to Restore Scrubbed Webpages, Data
- Popular Information | Trump Maintains Funding Freeze at NIH, Defying Court Order
February 10, 2025
- Think Global Health | The USAID “Lifesaving” Waiver Is a Mirage Without Sufficient Staffing
- SF Chronicle | ‘An Attack on Science’: UC, California Fight Trump Cuts to NIH Health Research Funding
- The SF Standard | ‘We Risk It All’: Bay Area Nonprofits Reel From Trump Funding Cuts and Chaos
- Devex | How the Aid Freeze Affects Nearly $60 Billion in USAID Spending
- Democracy Docket | Judge Orders White House to Unblock Funding for NIH, Others
February 9, 2025
- STAT | Federal Judge Halts Trump Administration Cuts to NIH Research Payments in 22 States
- STAT | Here’s How Big a Hit Some Universities May Take if NIH Slashes Support for Indirect Research Costs
- ProPublica | In Breaking USAID, the Trump Administration May Have Broken the Law
February 8, 2025
- Devex | All USAID Staff on Administrative Leave Reinstated Until Feb. 14
- Politico | How Spending $153M to Pay its Bills put USAID in DOGE’s Crosshairs
- Washington Post | NIH Cuts Billions of Dollars in Biomedical Funding, Effective Immediately
- NYT, Global Health Council | With Aid Cutoff, Trump Halts a Legacy of ‘Acting with Humanity’
- NYT | ‘We Are in Disbelief’: Africa Reels as U.S. Aid Agency Is Dismantled
- Washington Post | Judge Bars Trump from Putting 2,700 Additional USAID Workers on Leave
February 7, 2025
- Health Policy Watch | USAID and CDC Halt of Support to Global Polio Eradication Threatens Worldwide Campaign
- The Guardian | Opinion, Gordon Brown; Be Clear About What Trump and Musk’s Aid Axe Will Do: People Will Face Terror and Starve, Many Will Die
- Devex | Trump Will Double USAID Staff Numbers to 600, Up from 300 Yesterday
- KFF | How Much Global Health Funding Goes Through USAID?
- NPR | Why Is the Trump Administration Targeting USAID?
- Devex | Even Washington’s Favorite UN Agency Has to Tighten its Belt
- Devex | US-Grown Food Aid is Stranded in Ports Worldwide Despite Waiver
- Reuters | Halt in U.S. Aid Cripples Global Efforts to Relieve Hunger
February 6, 2025
- Devex | The End of Foreign Aid as We Know It
- Health Policy Watch | Crucial WHO Health Emergency Response Faces Budget Cut of 25%
- Wall Street Journal | White House Preparing Order to Cut Thousands of Federal Health Workers
- Washington Post | Gutting USAID Threatens Billions of Dollars for U.S. Farms, Businesses
- PBS Newshour | Former USAID Head on the Global Impact of the Dismantling
- STAT | Researchers ‘Stunned’ After HHMI Abruptly Cancels Program to Make Science More Inclusive
- Semafor | How the USAID Collapse Helps Putin
- NYT | Abandoned in the Middle of Clinical Trials, Because of a Trump Order
- Pew Research Center | What the Data Says About U.S. Foreign Aid
- Washington Post | Layoffs Hit Contractors and Small Businesses as Trump Cuts Take Effect
- Reuters | Africa’s Top Health Official Presses US to Resume Health Aid
- Devex | USAID’s Workforce to Be Slashed to Just 294 Staff
- Reuters | Trump Team Considers Demanding WHO Reform, Including American in Charge
- Devex | Thousands Gather in Washington to Protest the Dismantling of USAID
- NYT | Opinion, Samantha Power; Killing U.S.A.I.D. Is a Win for Autocrats Everywhere
- NYT | C.D.C. Posts, Then Deletes, Data on Bird Flu Spread Between Cats and People
February 5, 2025
- NYT | Foreign Aid Freeze Leaves Millions Without H.I.V. Treatment
- Washington Post | U.S. Aid Void Puts Pressure on Europe, Where Some Also Turn Inward
- Devex | Left in the Dark: The Human Toll of USAID’s Global Recall of Employees
- Politico | Trump Rescinds $4B in US Pledges for UN Climate Fund
- Devex | Staff Cuts Coming to DFC
- Devex | In Letter to Rubio, Senators Question Efforts to ‘Destroy’ USAID
- Bureau of Investigative Journalism | Trump’s Data Deletions Pose a Stark Threat to Public Health
- Washington Post | USAID Workers Scramble for Answers After Trump Pulls Almost All of Them off the Job Worldwide
- Devex | Most USAID Staff Cut From Agency, Marking End of World’s Largest Donor
February 4, 2025
- Devex | USAID Inspector General Warned of Oversight Failures Before Aid Shutdown
- Washington Post | Trans Health, Research Programs Ordered to Stop By Trump Administration
- Devex | FCDO Says USAID Merger Would Have ‘Seismic Impact’
- KFF | 10 Things to Know About U.S. Funding for Global Health
- Reuters | Trump Administration Puts on Leave USAID Staff Globally in Dramatic Aid Overhaul
- Devex | Newswire: The Slow but Sure Dismantling of USAID
- STAT | NIH Resumes Grant Reviews After Two-Week Pause, Along With Some Communications and Travel
- Devex | Scoop: Usaid Headquarters Shuttered for Second Day
- Politico | ‘What Elon Musk Said Is a Bold-Faced Lie’ A Former Republican Director of USAID Says the Agency Is Critical to U.S. Interests and Can’t Be Abolished or Folded Into the State Department
February 3, 2025
- NPR | U.S. Aid Freeze Hits Secret Girls’ Schools, Post-Flood Repair and Much More
- Devex | Scoop: UN Population Fund Thought It Prepared for the Worst — It Didn’t
- Devex | Tedros Refutes Trump’s Claims of WHO’s Lack of Independence
- CBS | USAID to Be Merged Into State Department, 3 U.S. Officials Say
- Devex | Dismantling Without a Merger: How Trump and Musk Undermined USAID
- Devex | USAID May Be Reorganized, Absorbed by the State Department, Rubio Says
- CGD | No, 90 Percent of Aid Is Not Skimmed Off Before Reaching Target Communities
- Devex | As Trump Upends USAID, What Can Be Done?
- Devex | Trump’s First 100 Days: Tracking the Impact on Development Work
- Washington Post | Trump and Allies Make More Moves to Wrest Control of USAID
- NYT | Top Security Officials at Aid Agency Put on Leave After Denying Access to Musk Team
- AP | WHO Chief Asks Countries to Push Washington to Reconsider Its Withdrawal
- Health Affairs | Unraveling Progress: The US Exit from the WHO and Its Global Consequences
February 2, 2025
- Politico | Trump Vows to Cut Off Aid to South Africa
- STAT | National Science Foundation Restores Payments After Five-Day Pause, but Worries Over Science Funding Persist
- Washington Post | What is USAID, the Government Agency Targeted by Trump and Elon Musk?
February 1, 2025
- Devex | Exclusive: Some PEPFAR Programs Get Waiver to Restart Operations
- Inside Medicine | Massive Censorship Escalation at CDC. Trump Administration Now Choosing the Public Health Data You Can See.
- Inside Medicine | CDC Orders Mass Retraction and Revision of Submitted Research Across All Science and Medicine Journals. Banned Terms Must Be Scrubbed.
- Just Security | Can the President Dissolve USAID by Executive Order?
January 31, 2025
- ProPublica | “People Will Die”: The Trump Administration Said It Lifted Its Ban on Lifesaving Humanitarian Aid. That’s Not True.
- NYTimes | Health Resources Vanish Following D.E.I. and Gender Orders
- KFF | Overview of President Trump’s Executive Actions on Global Health
- MedPage | CDC Purging Its Website After Trump Orders
- NYTimes | How the World Is Reeling From Trump’s Aid Freeze
- CUGH | Suspending Federal Support Threatens Lives, Jobs, & US Security
January 30, 2025
- Devex | Confusion, fear as PEPFAR partners suspend HIV services
- Devex | Atul Gawande: Stop-work Could Destroy US Global Health Infrastructure
- STAT | National Science Foundation Suspends Salary Payments, Leaving Researchers Unable to Pay Their Bills
January 29, 2025
- Devex | USAID Issues Blanket Stop-Work Order, Promising ‘Equitable Adjustments’
- Devex | 5 Key Questions About the US Foreign Aid Halt, Funding Freeze
- Devex | Questions Swirl About Whether Humanitarian Aid Waiver Applies to PEPFAR
- Devex | How Trump’s US Aid Stop-Work Order Affects Global Food Aid
- NY Times | Trump Administration Halts H.I.V.. Drug Distribution in Poor Countries
January 28, 2025
- The Guardian | Charities Reeling From USAID Freeze Warn of ‘Life or Death’ Effects
- Washington Post | White House Tries to Clarify Trump Federal Spending Freeze as Confusion Spreads
- NYTimes | State Department Permits Distribution of H.I.V. Medications to Resume — for Now
- NYTimes | Which Federal Programs Are Under Scrutiny? The Budget Office Named 2,600 of Them
- NYTimes | U.S. Halt to Foreign Aid Cripples Programs Worldwide
- BNI | Trump Order Suspends Healthcare in Refugee Camps
- Reuters | Trump Order Set to Halt Supply of HIV, Malaria Drugs to Poor countries, Sources Say
- Reuters | US Issues New Waiver for Humanitarian Aid Amid Freeze
- STAT | Trump Order Aims to End Federal Support for Gender Transitions for Those Under 19
- STAT | Trump Administration Suspension of Global HIV Treatment Program Sparks Chaos and Fear of Lost Lives
- STAT | The Trump Administration’s Latest Decisions on Federal Health Agencies, Summarized and Explained
- Devex | Trump’s Executive Order on WHO, Explained
- Devex | Scoop: USAID Furloughs Hundreds of Contractors from Humanitarian Bureau
- Devex | USAID Cancels Stop-Work Q&A with Partners, Citing Stop-Work Order
- Devex | ‘Game-Changing Moment’ in US Foreign Aid Throws Everything Into Doubt
- Think Global Health | President Trump Begins Changing U.S. Global Health Policy
- Inside Medicine | Updates on Trump’s Public Health Choke Hold. A Scorched Earth Approach Ensues.
- NPR | If Confirmed as HHS Secretary, RFK Jr. Would Have a Vast Global Reach
- amfAR | Impact of Stop Work Orders for PEPFAR Programs
January 27, 2025
- Devex | Trump Reinstates Mexico City Policy, Further Limiting Abortion Care
- Devex | Opinion: The Case for Democratizing Global Pandemic Preparedness
- AP | CDC Ordered to Stop Working With WHO Immediately, Upending Expectations of an Extended Withdrawal
- NPR | Trump Administration Puts Senior USAID Officials on Leave
- STAT | CDC Ordered to Stop Working With WHO Immediately, Upending Expectations of an Extended Withdrawal
- Forbes | CDC Ordered to Stop Working With WHO Immediately
January 26, 2025
January 24, 2025
- White House | Mexico City Policy
- Devex | Trump’s first 100 days: What’s next for US foreign aid?
- Devex | Exclusive: State Department Issues Stop-Work Order on Us Aid
- UC Berkeley | US Withdrawal from WHO Could Bring Tragedy at Home & Abroad
January 23, 2025
January 22, 205
- NPR | Assessing Trump’s claim that U.S. pays ‘unfair’ share of dues to WHO
- Devex | Trump’s Foreign Assistance Freeze Generates Uncertainty and Confusion
- Vox | Trump’s Sweeping New Order Tries to Dismantle DEI in Government — And the Private Sector
- HHS | Immediate Pause on Issuing Documents and Public Communication
January 21, 2025
- Devex | Trump Wastes No Time on Foreign Aid, Climate, and Health
- Devex I USAID Employees Told to ‘Pause’ Public Communications
- KFF | Trump Administration Withdrawal From the World Health Organization: What’s at Stake?
- NPR I Trump’s Federal Health Website Scrubs ‘Abortion’ Search Results
- NY Times | Change to Birthright Citizenship Would Affect Visa Holders, Too
- Science | Immediate Pause on Issuing Documents and and Public Communications
- Washington Post | Trump Officials Pause Health Agencies’ Communications, Citing Review
- Brady Responds to Trump Administration’s Apparent Closure of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention
- GHTC | Statement From the Global Health Technologies Coalition on US Withdrawal From WHO
- Global Health Council; People | Trump Withdraws US from World Health Organization — What Does That Mean?
- UN News | UN Regrets US Exit From Global Cooperation on Health, Climate Change Agreement
January 20, 2025
- The Hill | Trump Signs Executive Order Pausing Foreign Assistance for 3 Months
- The Hill | Trump Signs Executive Order Recognizing Only 2 Sexes
- Politico | Trump Imposes Federal Government Hiring Freeze, Orders Workers Back to Office
- White House | Withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization
- White House | Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid
- White House | America First Policy Directive to the Secretary of State
- White House | Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government
- White House | Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing
January 17, 2025