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The US Supreme Court rejected the Donald Trump administration’s request to keep billions of dollars in foreign aid frozen, allowing lower courts to move forward with enforcing payments approved by Congress, reported CNN. The 5-4 ruling was a setback for Trump’s efforts to consolidate executive power and reshape government spending.
While the ruling permits the release of funds, the justices did not set a clear deadline, leaving room for further disputes in lower courts. The majority opinion was unsigned, with Chief Justice John Roberts joining Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
The dissenting justices—Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh—argued that the court was overstepping its authority.
In a strongly worded dissent, Alito criticized the decision, writing, “A federal court has many tools to address a party’s supposed nonfeasance. Self-aggrandizement of its jurisdiction is not one of them.”
The dispute centers on billions of dollars in foreign aid from the US State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) that Trump froze in January. The administration’s move was part of an effort to cut spending and realign foreign aid programs with its policy priorities. However, several nonprofit organizations challenged the freeze, arguing that it violated Congress’s authority over federal spending and disrupted critical global health and humanitarian initiatives.
A lower court had previously ordered the administration to release the funds, but the government allegedly defied that ruling, prompting further legal action.
US District Judge Amir Ali, appointed by President Joe Biden, had mandated that the money be disbursed by February 13. After the administration failed to comply, he extended the deadline to midnight Wednesday, as per CNN.
In an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, the Trump administration argued that it needed more time to review payment requests and implement spending. The administration also revealed that it had moved to terminate more than 90% of USAID’s foreign aid awards.
“In total, nearly 5,800 USAID awards were terminated, and more than 500 USAID awards were retained,” the administration stated in court filings, as per CNN. The filing also noted that the total ceiling value of the retained awards was approximately $57 billion.
Democrats on Capitol Hill welcomed the ruling as a critical check on executive overreach. Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told CNN, “That money had already been appropriated, things were already in action, and so I think the Supreme Court ruled the right way. Now the administration needs to unfreeze them and allow those contractors and the work to be done.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal also praised the decision, calling it “a very important ruling” from “a Trump-dominated court.” However, Jayapal expressed skepticism about whether the administration would comply.
The ruling is the second major case to reach the Supreme Court regarding Trump’s efforts to consolidate executive power, as per CNN.
(With inputs from CNN)
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