The Trump administration on Tuesday urged the US Supreme Court to step in as it seeks to block billions in foreign aid and overturn a court order requiring continued payments.
The US Department of Justice in an emergency filing with the 6-3 conservative majority court noted that a 2-1 panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit earlier this month ruled the injunction should be overturned.
Despite that ruling, the injunction issued by Washington-based US District Judge Amir Ali remains in effect, after the full federal appeals court last week declined to put it on hold. Ali rejected a similar request on Monday.
90-Day Pause
Trump imposed a 90-day pause on all foreign aid on January 20, the day that he was inaugurated for a second term in the White House.
His executive order was followed by aggressive moves to gut USAID, the main US foreign aid agency, including placing much of its staff on leave and exploring bringing the formerly independent agency under the State Department.
Funding Freeze Unlawful?
Two nonprofit groups that receive federal funding, AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and Journalism Development Network, brought litigation alleging Trump’s funding freeze was unlawful.
The Trump administration in its filing to the Supreme Court said the congressionally appropriated funds subject to the injunction comprise tens of billions of dollars, some $12 billion of which would need to be spent by the US Department of State before September 30, when they expire.
The Republican president’s administration said that without the justices’ intervention, it will be forced to keep making payments before the expiration date, “overriding the Executive Branch’s foreign-policy judgments regarding whether to pursue rescissions and thwarting interbranch dialogue.”
Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ali, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden, ordered the Trump administration to pay nearly $2 billion in outstanding aid to its humanitarian partners worldwide. The US Supreme Court in March by a 5-4 vote declined to let the administration avoid making those payments.
But the DC Circuit panel ruled that the nonprofit groups failed to satisfy the requirements for an injunction. US Circuit Judge Karen Henderson, writing for the majority, said only the US Government Accountability Office, a watchdog agency, could challenge Trump’s efforts to withhold the funding.
(With inputs from Reuters)
