A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration violated a court order to temporarily unfreeze foreign aid but declined to hold officials in civil contempt over the transgression.

U.S. District Judge Amir Ali said the administration — namely the State Department, Office of Management and Budget and corresponding officials — “have not complied” with the court’s order to lift the sweeping freeze. He directed the government to abide by his previous order.

“The Court’s TRO does not permit Defendants to simply continue their blanket suspension of congressionally appropriated foreign aid pending a review of the agreements for whether they should be continued or terminated,” Ali wrote in a seven-page order.

“That is the very action that the Court temporarily enjoined because Plaintiffs had shown that blanket suspension pending review would cause irreparable harm and was likely arbitrary and capricious under the APA [Administrative Procedure Act] for failing to consider the massive reliance interests,” he........

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