Preliminary Injunction Prohibits Federal Government from Withholding Funding from National Endowment for Democracy

Munger, Tolles & Olson secured a preliminary injunction on behalf of the National Endowment for Democracy (the “Endowment”), prohibiting the federal government from withholding the Endowment’s congressionally appropriated funding.

The Endowment is an independent, nonprofit organization devoted to supporting democracy and freedom worldwide. Each year, Congress appropriates funds to the Endowment to fulfill its statutory mission. Beginning in January 2025, the federal government embarked on a sustained campaign to block the Endowment from receiving its appropriated funds, devastating its ability to pursue critical initiatives to back freedom around the world. MTO sued on behalf of the Endowment to enjoin the federal government from unlawfully withholding the Endowment’s funding.

On August 11, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia enjoined the government’s efforts to deprive the Endowment of funding, recognizing that the government’s “sudden and unprecedented withholding of $95 million” had caused the Endowment to “suspend impactful democracy-supporting initiatives,” including “critical election monitoring, helping democracy activists overcome authoritarian censorship, and maintaining access to independent news and information.” The district court determined that the government’s stated justification for blocking the Endowment’s funding “is not plausible” “in light of the defendants’ repeated maneuvers to impede the Endowment’s flow of funds.” The district court concluded that the government “is withholding funding for impermissible policy reasons” in violation of the National Endowment for Democracy Act and ordered the government to cease interfering with the Endowment’s funding.

The Endowment is represented by Don Verrilli, Ginger Anders, Gabriel Bronshteyn, Miranda Rehaut, Helen White, Esthena Barlow and Jeremy Kreisberg.

The preliminary injunction garnered media coverage in The New York Times, Politico, Newsweek and Bloomberg Law.