SCOTUS Denies Trump Administration’s Attempt to Block $2B in Foreign Aid Payments – One America News Network
OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
11:52 AM – Thursday, March 6, 2025
On Wednesday, a narrow majority of the Supreme Court lifted an injunction that had barred the Trump administration from disbursing nearly $2 billion in “overdue foreign aid funds.”
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The case was referred back to U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, who last week allowed the administration a 36-hour window to reimburse foreign aid contractors and grant recipients for completed work after Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett sided with the court’s liberal faction in a 5-4 decision.
The Justice Department (DOJ) promptly appealed to the Supreme Court following the D.C. Circuit’s refusal to pause Ali’s ruling. Roberts provided a temporary stay just hours before Ali’s deadline.
Nonetheless, the stay has now been removed, and Ali has been directed to “clarify” the responsibilities the government must now meet to remain in compliance with his order.
Justice Samuel Alito, articulating the dissent of the four conservative justices, criticized Ali for “judicial hubris” in assuming the authority to mandate the U.S. government to settle unpaid invoices.
“The District Court has made clear its irritation with the Government, and the respondents express significant concerns about nonpayment for completed work,” Alito stated. “However, the relief ordered is, simply put, excessively severe.”
“Does a single district-court judge, who likely lacks jurisdiction, possess the unchecked authority to compel the Government of the United States to disburse (and likely lose forever) 2 billion taxpayer dollars?” Alito continued. “The answer to that question should undoubtedly be ‘No,’ yet a majority of this Court seems to believe otherwise. I am astounded.”
“Consequently, the Government must hastily provide the $2 billion — not due to legal necessity, but merely because a District Judge mandated it,” he added. “As the Nation’s highest court, we have a duty to ensure that the authority delegated to federal judges by the Constitution is not misused. Today, the Court neglects that obligation.”
The Supreme Court’s decision will temporarily restore funding channels that several companies and charitable organizations claimed were critical for compensating their contractors and workers globally.
However, this development does not alter the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to dismantle USAID and foreign aid programs overall.
Under Secretary of State and Acting USAID Administrator Marco Rubio, the administration’s legal team informed the court last week that USAID and the State Department had concluded their reviews of foreign assistance awards, opting to terminate over 90% of them.
The awards, amounting to approximately $54 billion, were targeted for elimination “as part of the America First agenda,” a spokesperson for the State Department told WUSA9 – a CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C.
As one of his initial actions as president, Donald Trump ordered a 90-day freeze on funding for international aid.
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