A federal judge appointed by former President Donald Trump has ruled that the Trump administration's withholding of $95 million in grant funding to the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is illegal. Judge Dabney Friedrich, presiding in Washington, D.C., ordered the administration to restore the funding, stating that the president does not have the authority to override Congress's direct appropriation decisions. This ruling reinforces congressional control over federal spending and mandates that the administration resume the pipeline of money to the NED. Separately, another judge, Boasberg, ordered the release of documents related to the Jack Smith classified documents case and Trump’s attorney-client privilege dispute.