President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order that called for a 90-day pause on new foreign-aid programs for efficiency and "consistency with U.S. foreign policy." The order got less attention than some of the others he signed that day but may have much more far-reaching effects.

A federal judge on Monday extended an order blocking the Trump administration from enforcing a sweeping freeze on federal grants, rejecting arguments from the Justice Department that the case had become moot following the withdrawal of an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directive.

Several executive orders Trump signed last week pause or end some federal funding. Those executive orders, which remain in place, include the freezing of foreign aid, all funds to federal grantees who received money for DEI-related purposes and all funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act.

U.S. District Judge John McConnell issued a temporary restraining order preventing the administration from enforcing its halt on aid disbursements.

The order is temporarily on ice, but uncertainty swirls around which programs would and wouldn't be hit by the federal aid freeze.

When President Donald Trump froze foreign assistance for 90 days, he argued that such a drastic step was needed to eliminate waste and block what he derides as “woke” spending that doesn’t align with

President Trump’s sweeping spending freeze on U.S. foreign aid has immediate health consequences, writes Gavin Yamey.

The billions of dollars that the U.S. spends annually on foreign aid — more than any other nation — includes hundreds of grants for grassroots groups dedicated to fighting for democracy and against corruption.