In legal limbo: Inside the lawsuits against Trump's aid freeze

The Trump administration formally informed Congress of its proposal to abolish USAID, merging key aspects of its operations into the State Department. This plan involves the complete shutdown of the agency and subsequent staff layoffs. Despite this, the U.S. government intends to preserve vital programs concerning humanitarian assistance, food security, and global health, potentially leading to the rehiring of some former USAID employees under the State Department. This week we are also in Oxford, United Kingdom, at Skoll World Forum — the annual gathering for social entrepreneurs. We take a look at the key takeaways from the conference, where leaders from some of the world’s biggest foundations are calling philanthropists to step up and do more to help the nonprofit sector.To explore these stories, Senior Editor Rumbi Chakamba sits down with Managing Editor Anna Gawel and Business Editor David Ainsworth for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.

This week, the Trump administration released a detailed inventory of 5,341 discontinued USAID programs, alongside the 898 projects that are still active. We dig into the ins and outs of the data to assess the true scope of the government's policy changes, as well as reveal which programs have been most affected. During the conversation, we also discussed how the Trump administration’s foreign policy is affecting U.N. agencies and their funding. On the topic of the United Nations, the U.N. Arab Group, which represents the U.N.’s 22 Arab countries, has formally nominated Palestinian diplomat Riyad Mansour for the U.N. General Assembly presidency, setting the stage for a clash with the U.S. and Israel.For the latest podcast episode, Business Editor David Ainsworth sits down with Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger and Senior Global Reporter Colum Lynch to discuss these stories and others.NOTE ON THIS EPISODE: This podcast was recorded before the White House withdrew Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination to be the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. U.S. President Donald Trump posted on the social media platform Truth Social Thursday that he has asked her to step aside so Republicans could keep the majority in the House of Representatives and not risk giving up her seat.Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.

In this special episode of This Week in Global Development, Devex dives deeper into how climate change is driving increased gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work and the cutting-edge research that’s not only mapping its impacts but also improving our understanding of potential solutions.Hear directly from Kathy Baughman McLeod, the founder and CEO of Climate Resilience for All, a global NGO dedicated to strengthening women's health and livelihoods in the face of climate-driven extreme heat, and Shikha Silliman Bhattacharjee, the head of research, policy, and innovation at human and labor rights organization Equidem, as they discuss how their research is helping to fill an increasingly urgent gap. In conversation with Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar, they also discuss how research can help document climate-driven GBVH in the world of work in a way that centers the lived experience of women workers.This episode is sponsored by Funders Organized for Right in the Global Economy (FORGE).Visit Women Rising — a new narrative series spotlighting the intersection of gender-based violence and harassment and climate change in the world of work.

This week we dig into the different proposals on how the Trump administration could reform foreign assistance. According to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s post on the social media platform X, 1,000 programs will be retained, with plans to potentially fold USAID into the State Department. We also learned that Peter Marocco, who acted as deputy administrator of USAID for 6 weeks, has officially left USAID but remains at the State Department. However, given that the two government bodies may be interlinked in the not-so-distant future, he may still play a role in the shaping of U.S. foreign aid. With programs being canceled, reinstated, and canceled again, a great deal of uncertainty remains on what programs will be kept at the end of the process. The Department of Government Efficiency has also taken over the U.S. Institute of Peace, which appears to be the first nonprofit Elon Musk’s agency attempted to breach.What will become of USAID? Which foreign aid programs will be kept?To unpack these stories, Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger sits down with President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar and Global Development Reporter Elissa Miolene for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters. 

This week a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to pay USAID partners for billions of dollars in foreign aid work completed before Feb. 13. The ruling also stated that the president does not have “unbounded power” in the realm of foreign affairs. This means that the U.S. government must spend the money that’s already been appropriated by Congress. We discuss whether this ruling will hold and what it will mean for U.S. foreign assistance. We also analyze the potential effects of evolving U.S. foreign aid policies on the World Food Programme's fight against global hunger and contemplate whether philanthropy will fill the gap left by governments. To dig into these stories, and others, Devex’s David Ainsworth sits down with Anna Gawel and Ayenat Mersie for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters. 

This week the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to not pay billions of dollars in foreign aid to USAID and State Department partners — lifting a temporary reprieve granted by Chief Justice John Roberts. On the topic of USAID, the U.S. African Development Foundation mounted a direct challenge to the Trump administration. Wednesday saw USADF staff physically prevent Department of Government Efficiency officials from entering their offices.Across the pond, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the shifting of billions in aid spending to fund a larger military. This means that the U.K.’s aid budget will be cut to just 0.3% of gross national income by 2027, despite a manifesto promise to increase this figure from 0.5% back to 0.7%. To explore these stories and others, Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger sits down with Deputy Managing Editor Fiona Zublin and Global Development Reporter Elissa Miolene for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series.Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.

This week we closely followed the latest developments on the U.S. government’s attempt at dismantling USAID.We learned that the Trump administration has decided to cut 1,600 USAID personnel based in the United States, while also placing nearly all direct hires worldwide on administrative leave by midnight Sunday.Simultaneously, the Trump administration terminated nearly 10,000 foreign aid awards under USAID and the U.S. State Department, including those delivering critical humanitarian aid.And following a contentious legal battle in the lower courts, the U.S. Supreme Court paused a judge’s order forcing the government to pay $2 billion in frozen foreign aid, giving the Trump administration a temporary reprieve from the directive issued by a U.S. District Court.What’s next for USAID and U.S. foreign assistance?To take a look at the situation, Devex Senior Editor Rumbi Chakamba sits down with Senior Reporter Sara Jerving and Global Development Reporter Elissa Miolene for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters. 

This week we were closely following the lawsuits filed against the Trump administration for freezing U.S. foreign assistance. One of the lawsuits targets Elon Musk, stating that the billionaire has decimated the U.S. Agency for International Development without the authority to do so. However, the government appears to be determined to fight back against those who are ready to challenge its decisions. We also look back at the Munich Security Conference, where we were media partners. From conversations on food security to the attendance of U.S. Vice President JD Vance, we discuss the key takeaways from the event. For the latest episode of our podcast series, Devex Business Editor David Ainsworth sits down with Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar, and Devex Managing Editor Anna Gawel, to dig into these stories and more. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters. 

This week we were closely tracking the legal battles surrounding USAID's closure, with lawsuits filed by both former contractors and NGO partners as the fallout from the agency's shutdown continues to reverberate across the global development community.USAID is not the only institution in the sector being affected by the new U.S. administration. We also reported that the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration has edited out any references to sexual reproductive rights and diversity, equity, and inclusion in an apparent effort to prevent the Trump administration from making severe budget cuts to their programs.What will be the outcome of the lawsuits? How will other U.N. agencies react to Trump’s presidency?For the latest episode of our podcast series, Rumbi Chakamba sits down with Anna Gawel and Colum Lynch to break down these stories, and others. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.

This week our entire newsroom has been on the story of how the Trump administration has dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development. The administrative leave of much of USAID's workforce, including senior executives and almost all international staff, coupled with the layoff of thousands of contractors, has cast a long shadow over the future of U.S. foreign aid as we know it and raised concerns across the development sector about the continuity of critical programs.On Feb. 5, our team was on the ground as thousands rallied outside the U.S. Capitol, protesting the gutting of USAID.What will happen next? To make sense of the situation, Devex Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger sits down with Devex Reporters Sara Jerving and Elissa Miolene for the latest edition of our weekly podcast series. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.