On Wednesday, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts paused a court order that would have required the Trump administration to release $2 billion in frozen foreign aid by midnight. The Trump administration has said it is unable to meet the deadline.
This emergency appeal is the first time that President Donald Trump’s efforts to drastically change the federal government—such as making deep cuts to government agencies—have reached the Supreme Court. This case could lead to a clash between the justices and Trump’s efforts to concentrate power in the executive branch.
Roberts’ order does not solve the main issues in the case but puts a temporary hold on the deadline. This gives the court a few days to review the written arguments. Roberts is the justice assigned to handle emergency cases from the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C.
The chief justice also asked the groups that sued the administration to respond by Friday.
The Trump administration quickly asked the Supreme Court to step in late Wednesday, just hours before the midnight deadline. This is the second time Trump has asked the high court for help since taking office last month. Another case involving Trump relates to his firing of the leadership at the Office of Special Counsel.
The current issue involves billions of dollars in foreign aid from the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which Trump froze in January to cut federal spending and push his policy goals. U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, appointed by President Joe Biden, issued a temporary order requiring the money to be released while he considered the case.
When the plaintiffs argued that the Trump administration had not fully restored the funding, Ali ordered that the money be paid by 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The Trump administration said it would take “multiple weeks” to meet the judge’s request.
“The district court’s imminent and arbitrary deadline makes full compliance impossible,” acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris, the administration’s top appellate lawyer, told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
In one part of the appeal, the administration said it “takes seriously its constitutional duty to comply with the orders” of federal courts. This language seemed to address criticism that Trump and his supporters have received for suggesting they might ignore court orders or even impeach judges who issue rulings they disagree with.
“The government,” Harris wrote, “is undertaking substantial efforts to review payment requests and release payments.”
The groups that sued the administration have questioned these claims, suggesting that a few political appointees are blocking payments.
The government could face a major challenge when the court reviews the request more carefully. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which previously rejected the administration’s request to stop the deadline, said the order wasn’t something that could be appealed in the first place.
Steve Vladeck, a CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at Georgetown University Law Center, said Roberts’ pause is not an indication of how the court will rule on the foreign aid freeze. “It’s really just a way to buy time—perhaps just two days—to give the justices time to decide whether to pause Judge Ali’s ruling or force the government to restore the foreign aid funding while the case continues,” Vladeck explained.
Roberts’ pause comes as a court filing shows that the Trump administration has decided to terminate more than 90% of USAID’s foreign aid awards.
The filing stated that nearly 5,800 USAID awards were canceled, while over 500 were kept. The total value of the retained awards is about $57 billion. In addition to the USAID cuts, around 4,100 State Department awards were terminated, and approximately 2,700 State awards were retained.
The cuts to foreign aid are causing major problems for nonprofit groups and contractors. Aid programs worldwide have been halted due to the funding freeze and review of billions of dollars in assistance. The Trump administration has also placed most of USAID’s workforce on leave or fired them.
