The Department of Justice announced this week that it is “expeditiously” releasing nearly $95 million in congressionally approved funding for the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), after a federal court ruled that the Trump administration unlawfully withheld the money.
“All $94,941,000 of the remaining funding…are now available for obligation and DRL [Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor] will work expeditiously to obligate and disburse those funds to NED through a grant consistent with applicable law,” Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate wrote in a status report filed Wednesday.
Why It Matters
The ruling centers on Congress’s “power of the purse” and limits on presidential authority. By finding that the Trump administration withheld NED funds for policy reasons not permitted under statute, the decision reinforces restrictions on executive “impoundment” powers and makes clear that the White House cannot impose additional conditions outside of the law.
The withheld funding supports election monitoring, independent media, and other pro-democracy programs abroad.
What To Know
The ruling came just days after U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, a Trump appointee, issued a preliminary injunction ordering the release of the funds.
In a 15-page opinion, Friedrich wrote that the administration likely violated the National Endowment for Democracy Act by conditioning disbursement on whether NED activities aligned with “Administration priorities.”
“The defendants are withholding funding for impermissible policy reasons,” Friedrich said, pointing to internal documents showing that money was reviewed for alignment with White House objectives.
She also rejected the administration’s argument that reserving the funds for the next fiscal year would strengthen NED’s financial stability, calling the claim “not plausible” in light of delays, shifting requirements, and other hurdles.
According to the court, the freeze impacted 226 approved grants, 124 recommended grants, and 53 “core institute” projects involving election monitoring, countering authoritarian censorship, and supporting access to independent news.
The decision follows other recent setbacks for the White House, as the Government Accountability Office has issued multiple findings that the administration violated the Impoundment Control Act, a 1974 law limiting the executive’s power to block appropriated funds without congressional consent.
What Is NED?
The National Endowment for Democracy, created in 1983, is a private nonprofit that supports democratic institutions abroad. It receives an annual grant from the State Department.
For fiscal year 2025, Congress approved $315 million for NED. Typically, the full amount is made available immediately, but starting in January 2025, the administration began blocking tens of millions of dollars. This led to furloughs, canceled grants, and stalled projects.
The White House has argued that the move was consistent with the Antideficiency Act, which lets the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) apportion funds to ensure “the most effective and economical use” of appropriations. Friedrich dismissed that reasoning, ruling that the law cannot override other statutory obligations.
What People Are Saying
Judge Friedrich clarified that her decision did not guarantee NED immediate access to full appropriations every year. Instead, she said the specific withholding in this case—because NED projects did not match executive policy priorities—was unlawful.
“The government cannot suffer harm from an injunction that merely ends an unlawful practice,” she wrote.
OMB Director Russ Vought, in a May 2 letter to Senate appropriators, called for eliminating NED’s budget entirely for fiscal year 2026, citing its alleged support of media organizations critical of the president and his allies. Friedrich cited this as further proof that political motives drove the withholding.
Peter Roskam, NED’s board chair and a former Republican congressman, told The New York Times the lawsuit was a last resort after repeated failed attempts to obtain the funds. “We’d be delighted to learn that this was just an oversight and someone just forgot to hit the send button,” he said. “But clearly that’s not what’s going on.”
What Happens Next
With the court’s order in place, the Justice Department has begun releasing the nearly $95 million in withheld funding to NED.
The Trump administration may still appeal to the D.C. Circuit, but the judge denied a request to pause the injunction. That means the money will continue to flow even if appellate proceedings move forward.
