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New York, NY, August 13, 2025 — AVAC strongly condemns today’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to overturn the District Court’s injunction that compelled the restoration of vital foreign aid funding in the lawsuit, AVAC v. United States Department of State, which challenged the Trump Administration’s funding freeze on foreign assistance, arguing that the mass termination of foreign assistance awards as unconstitutional, arbitrary and capricious, and contrary to law.
This ruling, which allows the continuation of a Trump‑administration–imposed freeze on aid disbursements, poses profound threats to global health and HIV prevention efforts. By enabling the withholding of billions of dollars in funding, the court’s decision directly undermines the delivery of lifesaving HIV services and the ethical principles of equitable access.
“Today’s Circuit Court ruling hands the administration another victory in their intentional effort to destroy decades of progress in global development, diplomacy, public health and human rights,” said Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC. “Time and again, this administration has shown their disdain for foreign assistance and a disregard for people’s lives in the United States and around the world. More broadly, this decision, which we will appeal to the extent possible, further erodes Congress’s role and responsibility as an equal branch of government, and the majority opinion makes the court complicit.”
The Circuit Court panel of three judges decided in a 2-1 vote. The dissenting judge, Florence Pan, stated clearly what is at stake: “Today, a President defies laws enacted by Congress without any legal basis, and the court holds that he has merely violated a statute, that the Constitution is not even implicated, and that there is no judicially enforceable cause of action to challenge his conduct. By failing to rein in a President who ran roughshod over clear statutory mandates, the court evades its constitutional responsibility to delineate the obligations and powers of each branch of our government… At bottom, the court’s acquiescence in and facilitation of the Executive’s unlawful behavior derails the ‘carefully crafted system of checked and balanced power’ that serves as the ‘greatest security against tyranny—the accumulation of excessive authority in a single Branch.’”
Lauren Bateman, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group and lead counsel on this case, said “Today’s decision is a significant setback for the rule of law and risks further erosion of basic separation of powers principles. Our lawsuit will continue as we seek permanent relief from the Administration’s unlawful termination of the vast majority of foreign assistance. In the meantime, countless people will suffer disease, starvation, and death from the Administration’s unconscionable decision to withhold life-saving aid from the world’s most vulnerable people.”
On February 10, Public Citizen filed suit on behalf of AVAC and the Journalism Development Network, Inc, seeking emergency relief from a funding freeze that was put in place by an executive order issued the day that the Trump Administration took office.
The funding freeze ultimately led to the closure the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and decimated funding for global health, shattering relationships of trust with countries all over the world, upending decades of investment and development, and jeopardizing lives and livelihood. The case was among the first challenges to the Trump Administration’s executive orders to reach the Supreme Court. On March 5, in a 5-4 ruling, the justices rejected White House arguments that District Court judge, Amir Ali, lacked authority to direct payments to be unfrozen.
In the following weeks, the government had been forced to bring back federal staff in order to issue nearly $2 billion in funds for contractual work completed by February 13 related to USAID programs. Judge Ali also directed the government to promptly restore grants and cooperative agreements that were terminated prior to February 13. But with the complete dismantling of USAID, for many of those programs it was too late.
While the government has been forced by the court to issue these payments, which are ongoing, one USAID whistleblower has provided an eye-witness account and direct evidence alleging malfeasance by Trump Administration officials, including violations of the law and public trust, termination of contracts by individuals without legal authority to do so, and a so-called foreign aid grant review that was never more than a pretense, resulting in the illegal mass termination of contracts.
AVAC commends USAID’s workforce, and leaders among them, who are taking a stand against these attacks on the US constitution, global health, foreign aid, and accountability in government. As Public Citizen’s Lauren Bateman said, “The Trump Administration has consistently—preposterously—claimed that its decision to terminate thousands of U.S. foreign assistance awards was legal because those terminations were based on an ‘individualized’ review. This internal agency document corroborates that there was no such individualized review. It also shows that the Administration has ignored both court orders and numerous communications from officials within USAID.”
The global health ecosystem cannot afford further disruption. Data from a recent Lancet study estimate that the discontinuation of PEPFAR alone—one of the programs most directly impacted—could result in up to 10.75 million new HIV infections and 2.93 million HIV-related deaths by 2030.
“This court decision exacerbates an already grave humanitarian crisis. AVAC stands unwavering in our commitment to ethical, evidence-based global health programs to develop and deliver HIV prevention, vaccine and contraceptive innovations,” said Warren. “We urge policymakers and the courts to act urgently to reverse this dangerous precedent. The health and lives of millions – not to mention the underpinnings of our democracy – hang in the balance.”
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About AVAC: Founded in 1995, AVAC is an international non-profit organization that provides an independent voice and leverages global partnerships to accelerate ethical development and equitable delivery of effective HIV prevention options, as part of a comprehensive and integrated pathway to global health equity. Follow AVAC on Bluesky and Instagram. Find more at www.avac.org and www.prepwatch.org.