On September 3, 2025, United States District Court Judge Amir H. Ali issued a preliminary injunction directing certain government defendants to ensure the obligation of approximately $11.5 billion in funds appropriated by Congress for foreign aid that will expire if not obligated prior to September 30, 2025. The order directed:
The agency Defendants—that is, all Defendants except the President—are enjoined to make available for obligation and obligate, by September 30, 2025, for the uses and purposes specified by Congress:
(1) the expiring funds Congress appropriated for foreign assistance programs in the fifteen categories of appropriations specified in the Global Health Plaintiffs’ motion from Title III and Title IV of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 and prior appropriations acts, unless Congress rescinds the relevant appropriation through duly enacted legislation; and
(2) the minimum or specific expiring funds that Congress required the agency Defendants to obligate for particular uses and purposes in Section 7019(a) and Sections 7030–7061 of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 and prior appropriations acts, with the exception of the subcategories of funds for which no Plaintiffs would compete as identified in Glob. Health, ECF No. 133-2, unless Congress rescinds the relevant appropriation through duly enacted legislation.
Defendants may not newly obligate expiring funds, or keep funds that are currently obligated in that status, and then de-obligate the funds after September 30, 2025, for the purpose of unilaterally withholding the funds.
On September 8, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an application with the Supreme Court of the United States requesting an immediate administrative stay of the preliminary injunction while the Supreme Court considers DOJ’s application for a partial stay of the preliminary injunction. The partial stay would only apply to those funds the administration has proposed that Congress rescind via rescission (the same recission process noted previously on BuildSmart). On the same day the plaintiffs in the matter opposed the request for an immediate administrative stay.
On September 9, 2025, Chief Justice John Roberts issued an order granting the administrative stay until further order of either the chief justice or the Supreme Court. The order further directed the plaintiffs to file a response to the DOJ’s application for a partial stay of the preliminary injunction on or before Friday, September 12, 2025, by 4 p.m. (EDT).
If you are a potential or current government contractor interested in learning more about the scope of the injunction, what this may mean for contracting opportunities in the international development space, or the state of foreign aid generally, Nathaniel Greeson, Eugene Benick, and Aron Beezley look forward to hearing from you.