Supreme Court allows Trump to freeze $4 billion in foreign aid

The Supreme Court has handed Trump a major legal victory by allowing his administration to freeze $4 billion in foreign aid, money that Congress had already approved.

This ruling, issued Friday, overturned a lower court decision that had ordered the funds to be disbursed before the end of the fiscal year on September 30. The court’s order gives Trump cover to ignore Congress’s deadline and kill the aid package without spending a cent.

The decision was short and unsigned, but made one thing clear: the groups that sued the White House over the withheld aid had no legal standing to sue under the Impoundment Control Act.

The court accepted Trump’s argument that his executive power outweighed the potential harm to nonprofit groups expecting the money, which included organizations working on water access and disease prevention across developing countries.

Supreme Court overrides lower court order without full hearing

The court’s conservative 6-3 majority said it saw enough harm in blocking the administration’s foreign policy plans to justify letting the aid freeze stand. But the ruling didn’t come with a full opinion or any oral arguments.

That pissed off the three liberal justices, especially Elena Kagan, who wrote in her dissent that the court was rushing into “uncharted territory” and ignoring the legal process.

“We therefore should have denied this application,” Kagan wrote, “allowed the lower courts to go forward, and ensured that the weighty question presented here receives the consideration it deserves.”

This is now the 20th emergency ruling the court has granted Trump since the start of his second term in January. The pace and volume of wins he’s getting at the top court are unlike anything seen before, and even some federal judges are calling it out.

But for now, the administration isn’t slowing down. Chief Justice John Roberts had already paused the lower court’s ruling on September 9, and Friday’s order turned that pause into a permanent freeze.

Trump’s legal team had informed lawmakers weeks ago that they wouldn’t spend the $4 billion. They’re using a move called “rescission,” where the president notifies Congress that he doesn’t plan to spend certain funds.

It’s rare and controversial, and hasn’t been used like this since the Nixon era. And by dropping the notice so late in the fiscal year, Trump made sure Congress wouldn’t have enough time to respond before the funds expire.

Democrats are livid. Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Rosa DeLauro released a joint statement saying, “Republicans should join Democrats to stand up for our power of the purse.” But that’s unlikely to happen.

Republicans control both chambers and have shown no signs of pushing back. Instead, they’re focused on passing a budget before October 1 to avoid a full government shutdown.

The $4 billion came out of a $10.5 billion package approved for international development. Trump says he’s still spending the remaining $6.5 billion, but the slice he’s withholding was tied to humanitarian goals.

Judge Amir Ali, who serves in D.C., had ruled on September 3 that the administration must spend the money unless Congress formally canceled it. In response, Solicitor General D. John Sauer fired back in court, calling the ruling “unacceptable.” He said it would force the White House to hold unwanted talks with foreign governments over how to distribute the funds.

The lawsuit against Trump was filed by a group of nonprofits led by the Global Health Council. Their legal team said the administration’s interpretation of the Impoundment Control Act would completely flip the law’s purpose.

“Congress’s signature law meant to control impoundments,” they wrote, “actually provided the President vast new powers to impound funds, and made it virtually impossible to challenge impoundments in court.”

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