Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories
Protesters gather at the Wisconsin State Capitol, holding signs.

Trump's Water Policies Put America's Drinking Water at Risk

America at 250: A Country in Distress

America at 250: A Country in Distress

Bruce Springsteen In Concert, facing his audience.

Springsteen’s October D.C. Festival Pushes Music Into Democracy Fight

Happy teacher asking girl with hand raised sitting in classroom at elementary school

When It Comes to Our Children’s Education, Trump Gets An ‘F’

Judge Issues Order to Temporarily Restore Flow of Foreign Aid Funds under Trump Administration

News

USAID flag outside a building
Project 2025: U.S. Agency for International Development
J. David Ake/Getty Images
Hugo Balta
By Hugo BaltaFeb 16, 2025
Hugo Balta
Hugo Balta is a journalist, educator, and communicator. Hugo is the executive editor of the Fulcrum and a board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, the parent organization of The Fulcrum. He is the publisher of the Latino News Network, a trainer with the Solutions Journalism Network, and an adjunct professor teaching journalism courses.
See More Writings by author

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily lift a three-week funding freeze that affected U.S. aid and development work globally. The judge highlighted this freeze's significant negative impact on nonprofits and organizations responsible for implementing U.S. assistance overseas.

Thursday’s ruling represents a setback for the administration as it has pursued changes to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which some, including President Trump and Elon Musk, argue is misaligned with its goals.

The recent court decision is significant as it is the first to directly address what many have described as a sudden and complete cutoff of USAID funds for international programs.

Administration officials “have not offered any explanation for why a blanket suspension of all congressionally appropriated foreign aid, which set off a shockwave and upended” contracts with thousands of non-profit groups, businesses, and others, “was a rational precursor to reviewing programs,” Judge Amir H Ali said in his ruling.

The Guardian reports that contractors, farmers, and suppliers in the US and around the world say the Trump administration ’s funding freeze has stiffed them on hundreds of millions of dollars in pay for work already done, has forced them to lay off staff, and is rapidly putting many near the point of financial collapse.

There was no immediate public response from the Trump administration.

SUGGESTION: USAID: By helping others, we help ourselves

thefulcrum.us


Hugo Balta is the executive editor of the Fulcrum and a board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, the parent organization of The Fulcrum. He is the publisher of the Latino News Network.


Latest news

Adult grandson teaching his grandfather to use laptop, close-up.
Economy

Social Security Faces a 2032 Crisis with Deep Benefit Cuts Ahead

People attend a rally with signs that read, "Abolish ICE," and "Money out of politics."
Electoral Reforms

Facts Don’t Win Elections. Stories Do.

The Gerrymandering Solution
Elections

The Gerrymandering Solution

Inside the Trump Administration’s 2025 Reversal of Environmental Justice Executive Orders: Analysis and Future Prospects
Environment

Inside the Trump Administration’s 2025 Reversal of Environmental Justice Executive Orders: Analysis and Future Prospects

Read More

6 US Cities that Show America What Independent Leadership Looks Like

Image: Downtown Riverside, California. By Matt Gush on Alamy.

Provided: Image license obtained and used exclusively by IVN Editor Shawn Griffiths.

6 US Cities that Show America What Independent Leadership Looks Like

Independent candidates face structural barriers at every level of American politics—ballot access restrictions, fundraising disadvantages, and the near-total dominance of two-party infrastructure. The problem is only getting more stark with recent rulings such as this week’s NRSC v. FEC, where the Supreme Court ruled that First Amendment considerations bar limits on how much money political parties can spend in support of their candidates.But the absence of independent officeholders is not absolute. At the local level, a number of mayors governing major American cities have been elected outside of party structures, winning competitive races and building governing records, showing American voters what independent leadership can mean.

While some of these officeholders are more closely affiliated with major parties than others, they have all publicly spoken on their independence.

Keep ReadingShow less
Federal Register Reports being printed out of a large machine.

Congress should strengthen the administrative state by writing clearer laws, limiting delegated authority, and requiring periodic reauthorization of agency powers.

Photo courtesy of Luka Jacobi-Krohn

Putting the Guardrails Back on Delegations of Power

Congress needs to write better laws instead of dismantling the administrative state.

Debates over the administrative state focus on whether these agencies have accrued too much power. Some argue that the solution is to severely weaken or, in extreme scenarios, dismantle these federal agencies. However, the issue is not the existence of these agencies but actually how Congress writes its laws. When statutes are drafted with vague language, agencies are left to interpret the scope, and courts are forced to set the boundaries. This results in constant litigation and generally regulatory instability. If Congress actually wants a more durable and accountable regulatory system, they need to start with themselves by writing clearer laws.

Keep ReadingShow less
Businesspeople walking in line across world map, painted on asphalt

America's immigration debate reflects a deeper question: Does America still believe in itself? A historical look at immigration, assimilation, and American identity.

Klaus Vedfelt / Getty Images

What Immigration Debates Reveal About National Confidence

America has spent 250 years arguing about immigrants.

But beneath the arguments about visas, walls, asylum claims, deportations, and border security lies a more uncomfortable question:

Keep ReadingShow less
The U.S. flag, waving, with the ends of it frayed.

The U.S. is falling short of what its national wealth makes possible for its people.

Eric Raptosh Photography/Tetra images via GettyImages

Americans Are Not As Well Off As People in Peer Nations – Us Safety Net’s Shortfalls Show Up in Global Data

As the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of its Declaration of Independence, the global data we collect and analyze shows that the country is failing to “promote the general Welfare,” as the Constitution’s framers promised a little more than a decade later.

We are scholars of human rights. Alongside the Human Rights Measurement Initiative, a nonprofit that tracks how well more than 200 countries and territories are meeting the human rights commitments their governments have made, we annually update scores measuring whether people can actually get the basics of a decent life, such as healthcare, adequate food and a quality education.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2026