The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2–1 that the Trump administration may continue to withhold billions of dollars in foreign assistance that Congress appropriated for the current fiscal year. The panel reversed a lower-court injunction that had required the State Department to release the money, handing President Donald Trump a significant victory in his broader effort to pare back overseas development spending. Writing for the majority, Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, joined by Judge Greg Katsas, said the nonprofit groups and contractors that sued lacked standing because the Impoundment Control Act allows only the U.S. Comptroller General to challenge an alleged illegal funding freeze. Judge Florence Pan dissented, warning of “grave implications” for the separation of powers. The ruling—which covers about $2 billion earmarked for U.S. Agency for International Development programs—bolsters the White House push to scale down USAID and other foreign-aid initiatives. The plaintiffs can seek a rehearing before the full D.C. Circuit, but the decision for now frees the administration to keep the funds on hold.