US Supreme Court rejects Trump’s bid to freeze $2 billion in foreign aid
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The United States Supreme Court has rejected an attempt by President Donald Trump to freeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid payments, ruling 5-4 in favor of upholding a lower court order that directed the resumption of payments to contractors working with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US State Department. The decision, delivered on Wednesday, effectively blocks Trump’s January 24 directive imposing a 90-day freeze on USAID’s fund disbursements pending a State Department review.
USAID, an independent agency responsible for administering foreign aid and development assistance on behalf of the US government, plays a crucial role in global humanitarian efforts. The freeze had disrupted aid operations worldwide, halting hundreds of programs across multiple countries. The US, as the largest humanitarian aid provider, operates in over 60 nations, primarily through contractors.
In February, District Judge Amir Ali ordered the US State Department and USAID to pay contractors for completed work by February 26, according to BBC. The Trump administration challenged this ruling in the Supreme Court, arguing that processing such payments within the given timeframe was impractical. However, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision, instructing Judge Ali to clarify the government’s payment obligations.
Conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh dissented from the ruling, while Justice Amy Coney Barrett, appointed by Trump in 2020, sided with the court’s three liberal justices. In his dissent, Alito strongly criticized the ruling, questioning whether a single district judge “who likely lacks jurisdiction” should have the authority to force the US government to disburse and potentially lose $2 billion in taxpayer funds. “The answer to that question should be an emphatic ‘no’, but a majority of this court apparently thinks otherwise,” Alito wrote, expressing his shock at the decision.