A federal appeals court rules the Trump administration can withhold $4 billion approved by Congress for global health programs and more than $6 billion for HIV and AIDS prevention. The court ruled that the administration can continue to freeze or terminate billions of dollars that Congress had earmarked for foreign aid spending. The foreign aid freeze was an action the President took on his very first day in office in January. To speak or not to speak: Why many aid groups are silent about the Trump cuts Charities usually like to talk to the public about their good works. In the wake of the Trump aid cuts, there’s a new approach: “anticipatory silence.” It’s controversial.