On Tuesday evening, the Trump administration’s legal team submitted an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court. This action aims to pause lower court injunctions, impacting roughly $12 billion in foreign aid expenditures that Congress previously authorized.
This funding is primarily associated with the U.S. Organization for International Development (USAID), which had been expected to be disbursed by the end of the current fiscal year in September. Shortly after assuming office, President Trump had redirected many of these funds, citing a desire to reduce foreign aid and combat “waste, fraud and abuse.”
U.S. Attorney General D. John Sauer informed the Supreme Court in their appeal that, without the court’s intervention, the administration would be compelled to manage around $12 billion in foreign aid by September 30, marking the fiscal year’s conclusion.
The Supreme Court now has authority over nearly $2 billion in USAID funds that remain frozen.
Payments were delayed for months after an order Trump issued on his first day in January. A federal judge in D.C. had earlier blocked this order. U.S. District Judge Amir Ali mandated that the administration reinstate billions of dollars in funding for USAID projects, which Congress had previously approved.
However, this ruling was overturned by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which voted 2-1 to lift the lower court’s injunction.
The Appeals Court partially reversed Judge Ali’s order, dismissing appeals from foreign aid organizations aiming to reinstate grant payments. In their majority opinion, they noted that Trump appeared to act beyond his administrative powers.
Judge Karen L. Henderson, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, indicated that the plaintiffs had no legitimate grounds to sue the Trump administration regarding what is termed water storage.
Nonetheless, the Court of Appeals has yet to issue a mandate to enforce its decision, meaning that, for the time being, Judge Ali’s order—and the payment timeline he established—remains in effect.
Sauer argued in the emergency appeal that the foreign aid organizations that had sued the Trump administration lacked the legal standing to challenge administrative actions that fall under the jurisdiction of the Exemption Management Act.
He stated, “Congress did not disrupt the delicate interbranch balance by allowing unrestricted private litigation.” He further suggested that the ongoing dispute regarding fund allocation, which the President aims to withdraw just before expiration, should be addressed by a political body not influenced by the district court’s bias.
The plaintiffs contend that the administrative department exceeded its authority by unilaterally withholding funds already earmarked under the Water Storage Management Act and the Management Procedure Act.
The Supreme Court has previously ruled on similar matters by a narrow margin.
