OAN Staff Brook Mallory
11:52am – Thursday, March 6th, 2025
On Wednesday, the majority of the Supreme Court overturned an injunction that had prevented the Trump administration from paying nearly $2 billion in “past foreign aid funds.”
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The case was sent back to US District Judge Amir Ali. Last week, Amir Ali allowed the government to reimburse foreign aid contractors and subsidies for work already completed after Judges John Roberts and Judge Amy Coney Barrett joined the court's liberal side by 5-4 votes.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has made a quick appeal to the Supreme Court after the DC Circuit refused to maintain Ali's decision. Roberts allowed a temporary stay a few hours before Ali's deadline.
Nevertheless, the stay has been lifted and Ali is instructed to “clearly” the obligations the government must now fulfill in order to continue to comply with his orders.
Judge Samuel Alito accused Ali of “judicial hubrism” for writing for the four conservative justice he opposed and assuming the power to direct the US government to settle unpaid bills.
“The district court made it clear of its dissatisfaction with the government, and respondents raised serious concerns about non-payment of completed work,” Alito wrote. “But the salvation ordered is a very simple, too extreme reaction.”
“Do district court judges who are likely to lack jurisdiction have unconfirmed powers that are forced to make the US government pay $2 billion in taxpayer dollars (and likely lose it forever)?” Alito continued. “The answer to that question must be an emphasised 'no', but the majority of this court clearly believes it is. I'm feeling uneasy. ”
“As a result, the government clearly has to pay a $2 billion post-shot, not because the law requires it, but because the district judge ordered it that way,” he added. “As the country's Supreme Court, we have an obligation to ensure that the powers entrusted to federal judges by the Constitution are not abused. Today, the courts have failed to fulfill their responsibilities.”
The Supreme Court's ruling will temporarily reopen groups of businesses and charities that they argued were essential to pay contractors and workers around the world.
But that doesn't make a difference in the Trump administration's continued dismantling USAID and foreign aid funds in general.
Under the direction of Secretary of State and USAID administrator Marco Rubio, the administration's lawyers last week notified the court that USAID and the State Department had completed individual reviews of the Foreign Assistance Awards and decided to terminate more than 90%.
The award, which totaled around $54 billion, was subject to removal “as part of the First Gender of the United States,” a State Department spokesperson said. WUSA9 – a CBS Washington DC affiliate outlet
In his first act as president, President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day suspension of fundraising for international aid.
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