Department of State v. AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition [a] is a United States court case filed in 2025. The plaintiffs are several non-profit organizations (such as the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and Global Health Council) [1] who were supposed to receive $1.9 billion [1] in USAID funds, and the defendant was the United States Department of State. The case was presided over by Judge Amir Ali.
The plaintiffs sued the State Department in order to free up funds that had been cancelled by a memorandum written by Secretary of State Marco Rubio while implementing the second Trump administration's freezing of foreign aid. [2] The judge granted an injunction to the plaintiffs that they needed to be paid for all work they had already performed, which was appealed to the Supreme Court's shadow docket. [2] The Supreme Court allowed the injunction to continue. [2] The case was then appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and then made its way to the Supreme Court again. [2] Chief Justice John Roberts granted a partial administrative stay, pausing some of Ali's injunction while the full court considers staying the injunction. [2]
The court case may be considered again by the Supreme Court, which could set or change United States legal precedent regarding impoundment of appropriated funds. [3] On September 26, the Supreme Court approved the Trump administration's request for an emergency appeal to allow the administration to unilaterally withhold the funds. [4]
