By Brendan Pierson
(Reuters) -A federal judge in Washington on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to pay foreign aid funds to contractors and grant recipients by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday night, saying there was no sign that it had taken any steps to comply with his earlier order that the funds be unfrozen.
U.S. District Judge Amir Ali’s order came in a telephone hearing in a lawsuit brought by organizations that contract with and receive aid from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department. It applies to work done before February 13, when the judge issued his earlier temporary restraining order.
It was the third time Ali had ordered the administration officials to release foreign aid funds that were frozen after President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause on all foreign aid, throwing global humanitarian relief efforts into chaos.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit have said they will have to shut down completely if they are not paid soon. They allege that the administration has violated federal law and the U.S. constitution in refusing to pay out the funds and in dismantling USAID.
The foreign aid agency on Sunday said that all of its staff except certain essential workers would be put on paid administrative leave, and that 1,600 positions in the United States would be eliminated.
(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York, Editing by Franklin Paul and Deepa Babington)
