Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Freeze Billions in Foreign Aid

The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court for emergency permission to withhold billions of dollars in foreign aid that Congress approved for the current fiscal year, according to a Justice Department filing dated Aug. 26. The government says it needs clarity by Sept. 2 so the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development can finalize spending plans before large tranches of the money expire on Sept. 30. Congress earmarked about $30 billion for foreign assistance programs in the 2024 appropriations law, and advocacy groups estimate more than $15 billion will lapse if it is not obligated by the fiscal-year deadline. A Washington district judge earlier ordered the administration to disburse the funds, but a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned that ruling on Aug. 13, concluding that the private plaintiffs lacked standing. Because the appellate mandate has not yet issued, the injunction remains in place. In its Supreme Court petition, the Justice Department argues that disputes over congressionally appropriated funds should be resolved between the political branches, not through private litigation, and warns that the injunction hampers executive-branch budget planning. The nonprofits challenging the freeze counter that withholding the aid undermines humanitarian programs and erodes Congress’s constitutional power of the purse. The justices have not indicated when they will act on the request.