The judge faulted the logic of a blanket freeze on foreign aid spending and found that groups that depend on the aid had made a strong initial showing of “irreparable harm.”

The Trump administration must allow the distribution of foreign aid again -- at least temporarily -- unless challenges to the White House's sweeping order is heard in court.

The court ruling was the second to deliver a major setback for the Trump administration in what has been its dismantling of USAID.