The United States Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled against President Donald Trump’s efforts to block $2 billion in foreign aid payments, delivering a significant legal setback to his administration.
In a narrow 5-4 decision, the justices upheld a lower court’s directive requiring the federal government to resume payments for completed contracts involving the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department.
However, the court also called for clarification from the overseeing district judge regarding the specific contractual obligations the government must fulfill.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, both appointed by Republican presidents, sided with the three liberal justices to form the majority opinion.
Justice Samuel Alito, joined by three other conservative justices, penned a strongly worded dissent questioning the authority of a single district court judge to mandate the release of taxpayer funds.
“Does a single district-court judge who likely lacks jurisdiction have the unchecked power to compel the Government of the United States to pay out (and probably lose forever) 2 billion taxpayer dollars?” Alito wrote.
“The answer to that question should be an emphatic ‘No,’ but a majority of this Court apparently thinks otherwise. I am stunned,” he added.
The case originated last month when District Judge Amir Ali, a Biden appointee, issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump administration from “suspending, pausing, or otherwise preventing” the distribution of foreign aid funds.
Trump, with support from top donor Elon Musk, has pushed to scale back or dismantle portions of the U.S. government, with USAID being a primary target.
While Trump has openly criticized the agency, Musk has gone further, branding it a “criminal organization” in need of a major overhaul.
