Supreme Court Stays Order Requiring Trump to Pay $4B in Foreign Aid
The Supreme Court moved Tuesday to block a lower court order that required the Trump administration to spend $4 billion in foreign aid by Sept. 30.
The high court’s judgment came in response to an emergency appeal filed Monday morning by the Trump administration that alleged it would suffer “irreparable harm” if forced to spend the money.
The decision temporarily halts an order from U.S. District Judge Amir Ali that demanded the administration disburse funds Congress appropriated under President Joe Biden.
Ali’s order came despite the Trump administration’s request to Congress to rescind the $4 billion in funding. That request was filed on Aug. 28, from which date Congress had 45 days to deliberate whether or not to revoke the money.
If allowed to stand, Ali’s order would have meant the Trump administration had to distribute all the money before Congress could answer its request—a demand U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer called “self-defeating and senseless.”
That prompted the administration to file an emergency appeal asking the Supreme Court to block Ali’s order while Congress deliberates—an appeal that the high court’s order now grants.
The court’s decision puts the case on hold while it—and Congress—deliberates.
The underlying case concerns a lawsuit brought by the Global Health Council, AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, and others in response to President Donald Trump’s termination of foreign aid grants.
