State Department Terminates Contract for Catholic Group That Sued

The government terminated an agreement with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The U.S. Department of State in Washington on Jan. 27, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The State Department has ended a contract with a Catholic group that sued it, which should trigger the dismissal of the lawsuit, government lawyers said in a court filing on Feb. 27.

Officials immediately terminated the contract on Thursday, they told the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in a Wednesday termination notice that was filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

“This award no longer effectuates agency priorities,” a State Department official informed the conference.

The Conference of Catholic Bishops on Feb. 18 sued the State Department over its halt in funding for refugee resettlement programs, alleging violations of federal law.

In a new notice to the court, government lawyers said the termination of the contract means the suit should be thrown out.

“The termination of the agreements leaves open only a question of unpaid money under the cooperative agreements, and, to the extent Plaintiff disputes any reimbursement, the dispute needs to [be] brought in the Court of Federal Claims,” the lawyers wrote.

“Even could the Court have entertained injunctive relief under the Administrative Procedure Act to compel the State Department to take some action under the agreements during their lifetimes, any such jurisdiction is now clearly absent as there is no action the Court could compel—the parties’ agreements are no longer in force.”

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, who is overseeing the case, recently declined to block the halt in refugee resettlement funding, finding that the Conference of Catholic Bishops had not met the high bar for a temporary restraining order.

McFadden said his ruling was “very tentative” and scheduled a hearing for Feb. 28 to hear arguments for and against the Catholic group’s request for a preliminary injunction.

In a separate filing on Thursday, the plaintiffs said that the termination of the contract does not necessitate dismissal of the case.

“The government cannot escape review of its unlawful suspension by effecting an unlawful termination. This Court should preliminarily enjoin enforcement of the funding suspension and the termination,” the organization said.

The Conference of Catholic Bishops is composed of bishops who organize charitable work and promote Catholic activities in the United States and other countries.

In the suit, the conference said it has helped integrate refugees into American society by providing them with shelter and other services. The Jan. 24 halt in refugee resettlement funding, it said, also halted all previously expected payments, including reimbursements for work completed before the pause. The conference said the halt violated a federal law that prohibits arbitrary agency action.

The government said in its initial response to the suit that the State Department’s pause was carefully considered and temporary.

“The agencies’ decision to immediately suspend the funding of the Program was rational and consistent with the Foreign Aid Order” issued by President Donald Trump, they said.