- AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition v. Department of State and Global Health Council v. Donald J. Trump. The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition is an international non-profit organization working to develop and deliver HIV prevention tools. Journalism Development Network, Inc. (JDN) is a non-profit corporation supporting a global consortium of journalists. On February 10, 2025, the Coalition and JDN filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s funding freeze to U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). USAID is the main U.S. agency responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. The next day Global Health Council brought a similar lawsuit, and the lawsuits were brought together by the same judge.
On February 13, 2025, Judge Amir Ali, a federal judge in Washington D.C., issued a temporary restraining order ordering the Trump administration to pay contractors for foreign aid work that has already been performed while he continues to review the case. The government appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. On March 5, 2025, the Supreme Court voted 5-to-4 to uphold the lower court ruling. The Supreme Court instructed the Judge Ali to “clarify what obligations the government must fulfill to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order with due regard for the feasibility of any compliance timelines.”
On March 10, 2025, Judge Ali issued a 48-page ruling granting a preliminary injunction ordering the Trump administration to release USAID payments owed under certain existing contracts through February 13. The Court found “Plaintiffs have adduced ample evidence that the funding freeze has had dire humanitarian consequences and has devastated businesses and programs across the country.” The Court explained the freeze was an “unbridled view of Executive power” that “usurps Congress’s exclusive authority to dictate whether the funds should be spent in the first place.” We will continue to monitor this case.
- National Council of Nonprofits v. Office of Management and Budget. Several coalitions of nonprofit organizations that rely on federal grants are suing over the administration’s spending freeze. On February 25, 2025, Judge Loren L. AliKhan, a federal judge in Washington D.C ordered the Trump administration to reverse the freeze because it interfered with Congress’s appropriation of federal money. Judge AliKhan wrote the “freeze was ill-conceived from the beginning” and “irrational, imprudent, and precipitated a nationwide crisis.” We will continue to monitor this case.
- Joyce Bell Limbrick, a Black woman and former Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director at the University of Southern California (USC), has sued USC in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging that she was subjected to discrimination and harassment based on the intersection of her race and gender. Following the appointment of a new Athletic Director, Limbrick claims she endured racially and sexually discriminatory remarks, was stripped of key responsibilities, and was systematically excluded from leadership opportunities. Despite reporting this conduct and cooperating in internal investigations, she has asserted that she was wrongfully terminated under the pretext of poor performance shortly after receiving a merit-based salary increase. This case is among the first to invoke California’s new intersectionality bias provisions under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) (Joyce Bell Limbrick v. University of Southern California, Los Angeles County Superior Court Case No. 25STCV00551).
