Contractors Urge Judge to Hold Marco Rubio, USAID Director in Contempt for Defying Court Order on Foreign Aid

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Alexis N. Crockett
February 21, 2025
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7 minutes read

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Contractors and aid recipients are urging a federal judge to hold Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in civil contempt for their ‘brazen defiance’ of an order to maintain agency operations.

According to Politico’s Kyle Cheney, the motion for contempt was filed this afternoon in AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition v. Department of State. USAID, while an independent agency, operates under certain directives from the State Department. The Trump administration has sought to fully integrate USAID under State control.

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Last week, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ordered the administration to allow USAID funding to resume after the Trump administration imposed a sweeping freeze on nearly all foreign aid. This freeze led to the abrupt suspension of federal aid workers, including those stationed abroad, and left food aid stockpiling at U.S. ports.

“At least to date, Defendants have not offered any explanation for why a blanket suspension of all congressionally appropriated foreign aid, which set off a shockwave and upended reliance interests for thousands of agreements with businesses, nonprofits, and organizations around the country, was a rational precursor to reviewing programs,” Ali wrote at the time.

While acknowledging the importance of auditing and reviewing foreign aid distribution, Ali noted, “there has been no explanation offered … as to why reviewing programs — many longstanding and taking place pursuant to contractual terms — required an immediate and wholesale suspension of appropriated foreign aid.”

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Despite this order, on Wednesday morning, USAID Director Peter Marocco’s legal team argued that the State Department had already conducted its review and determined that the aid suspension was justified. As a result, they stated, the funds would remain frozen, directly contradicting the court order.

BREAKING: USAID contractors/aid recipients say Secretary Rubio and USAID leader Peter Marocco should be held in civil contempt for violating a court order to lift spending freeze. pic.twitter.com/542ZL762Vz
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) February 19, 2025

The plaintiffs are now demanding not only that the frozen funds be released but also that Marocco and Rubio be held in civil contempt. “This court should not brook such brazen defiance of the express terms of the order,” the filing states.

Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, has also criticized the administration’s handling of USAID in a separate case, describing the current situation as “a mess” that has left foreign aid workers uncertain about their responsibilities.