The United States Supreme Court on Wednesday refused a request by the Trump administration to withhold nearly $2bn (£1.6bn) in payments to foreign aid organisations for work they have already performed for the government.
The apex court upheld a lower court ruling ordering the administration to release the funds to contractors and grant recipients of the US Agency for International Development and the State Department.
Since taking office, President Donald Trump has cut numerous aid programmes and placed most USAID staff on leave or dismissed them.
Aid agencies argue these actions have jeopardised life-saving operations worldwide.
Last month District Judge Amir Ali had ordered the State Department and USAID to pay the bills to contractors for the work already done by midnight on 26 February.
As the deadline approached, the Trump administration sought an emergency relief from the Supreme Court, arguing it was impossible to process claims in an orderly fashion in such a short period of time.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a brief administrative stay, before the full court acted on President Trump’s request.
On Wednesday, the top court in a narrow 5-4 decision declined to halt the lower court order that required the Trump administration to release the payment.
The court said that Judge Ali’s deadline for the immediate payment had now passed, and the district court should “clarify what obligations” the administration must fulfil to comply the order.
Conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh dissented with the order.
“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?” Justice Alito wrote in a dissent joined by the three other conservative justices. “The answer to that question should be an emphatic ‘No,’ but a majority of this Court apparently thinks otherwise. I am stunned.”
The case began when two aid groups challenged Trump’s 90-day freeze on foreign assistance. Judge Ali initially paused the cuts while reviewing the case, later ordering payment for completed work after the government failed to comply.
Legal proceedings continue, with a district court hearing set for Thursday on contractors’ requests for extended relief.
The Trump administration, led by billionaire Elon Musk’s cost-cutting initiative, aims to shrink the federal workforce.
USAID cutbacks have already disrupted global aid efforts, freezing hundreds of programmes in dozens of countries.
The US, by far the world’s largest humanitarian aid provider, operates in over 60 countries, largely through contractors.
