AVAC v. United States Department of State

On February 10, 2025, AVAC and another nonprofit organization sued the President, the State Department, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Marco Rubio, Secretary State and Acting Administrator of USAID, and Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking emergency relief from an Executive Order that inhumanely froze all funding for foreign assistance. 

By abruptly freezing foreign assistance funding, the administration halted the life-saving work of organizations across the globe and cost thousands of American jobs and counting. Lead lawyer on the case, Lauren Bateman from Public Citizen said, “The Trump administration’s freeze on foreign assistance funding is dangerous and illegal. When programs are abruptly shuttered, the impacts are felt throughout the world—with the most vulnerable people bearing the deadliest impact.” 

The Executive Order forced AVAC to abruptly stop CASPR, a coalition of African civil society organizations that supports research on HIV prevention and provides resources for local communities, including medical research trial participants, journalists, and policy makers. As a result, the rollout of emerging HIV preventative drugs across the African continent may be delayed, risking deadly consequences. AVAC has been forced by the illegal funding freeze to begin laying off staff. 

Mitchell Warren, AVAC’s Executive Director, called the funding freeze and other the draconian actions of this administration harmful to global health and security: “In the name of economic efficiency, they are destabilizing public health, diplomatic relationships, communities, and economies. AVAC and many of our African civil society CASPR partners will be irreparably harmed by this pause. It takes time to build up these programs and relationships, but it is taking days to destroy them—and it will take more time to re-build, no matter who funds these efforts. USAID has made America stronger, safer and more prosperous for decades. It’s no time to throw that away.”

Key Dates

• January 20: US Presidential administration issues Executive Order “pausing” foreign aid for 90-day review.
• February 10: AVAC, Journalism Development Network, and Public Citizen file suit against funding freeze; read out it in our press release, New York Times, Devex, and Politico.
• February 11: Global Health Council and other plaintiffs file suit against administration challenging funding freeze.
• February 12:  Judge Amir Ali holds preliminary hearing on both cases.
• February 13: Judge Amir Ali issues temporary restraining order, ordering government to reinstate foreign aid funding; read about it in our press release, NPR, Time, Devex, and The Guardian.
• February 18: US government lawyers respond to TRO. Read about it in Washington Post.
• February 19: AVAC’s lawyers respond, asking the Court to hold USG officials in contempt of Court. See it in Reuters, the New York Times, CNBC, NBC, Politico and Devex.