Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has thrown her support behind the Global Health Council, joining a coalition of 23 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief challenging President Trump's executive power play. The Global Health Council is suing the Trump Administration over a move that froze billions in foreign aid, a decision previously greenlit by Congress for USAID and State Department programs. The AGs contend that this action disregards congressional authority and could cause far-reaching negative impacts.
Last week, the attorneys pushed their weight behind the non-profit's appeal after a federal district court sided with the Global Health Council and ordained a preliminary injunction. Having been ordered to "make available for obligation the full amount of funds that Congress appropriated for foreign assistance programs." the Executive Branch found itself at the receiving end of rebuke. According to an official statement, Campbell said, "No President has the authority to bypass Congress’s power of the purse and, in this case, unilaterally block funding that supports public health, research, and humanitarian aid.”
The amicus brief draws attention to the very palpable harm inflicted on institutions across the U.S. Universities, agriculture, and small businesses have felt the sting of halted foreign aid funding, resulting in job losses and disrupted research. The coalition takes a firm stance against the Trump Administration's rationale that the Executive Branch has unilateral discretion to withhold appropriated funds, leveraging the constitutional argument that such authority rests solely with Congress.
Attorneys general from across the country, including populous states like California, New York, Illinois, and smaller regions such as Delaware and Rhode Island, hold that the freeze on foreign aid is detrimentally affecting their states, as stated in the brief. The withholding of funds has not only left American crops intended for international help unallocated but also hundreds of workers in the U.S. have seen their positions terminated. Cutting-edge research at prestigious universities now lies in limbo, a direct consequence of this wrestle of powers.
