A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2–1 on Wednesday that the Trump administration may suspend or terminate billions of dollars in foreign assistance approved by Congress for the current fiscal year, overturning a lower-court order that had restored the money. Writing for the majority, Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, joined by Judge Gregory Katsas, said two nonprofit grant recipients lacked legal standing to challenge the freeze because, under the Impoundment Control Act, only the Government Accountability Office can sue over alleged violations. Judge Florence Pan dissented, arguing the decision permits the executive branch to disregard spending laws and upends the separation of powers. The ruling lifts an injunction issued in May by U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, who had directed the State Department to release nearly $2 billion in outstanding funds and resume processing additional grants for global health and humanitarian programmes. The case stems from President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order imposing a 90-day pause on all foreign aid and launching an effort to fold the U.S. Agency for International Development into the State Department. Wednesday’s decision hands the White House a significant victory in its push to curtail overseas aid and expand executive control over appropriated funds. Aid groups said they are reviewing options that include seeking rehearing by the full D.C. Circuit, while the administration signalled it will move ahead with further reviews of congressionally mandated programmes.