Overview

• A three-judge D.C. Circuit panel voted 2-1 to reverse a District Court injunction that had ordered roughly $2 billion in USAID grants to be released
• The majority held that nonprofit recipients cannot invoke the Administrative Procedure Act or a freestanding constitutional claim because the Impoundment Control Act vests enforcement solely with the GAO
• The procedural ruling did not address whether the administration’s freeze unlawfully infringes on Congress’s power of the purse under the Constitution
• Judge Florence Pan dissented, warning that restricting judicial review risks undermining separation of powers and allows executive overreach
• Challengers plan to seek en banc review or GAO action under the Impoundment Control Act, with potential appeals up to the Supreme Court