A US Supreme Court has rejected a request from the Trump administration to block the release of nearly two billion dollars in foreign aid funds. The administration had sought to halt the payments, citing a dispute over the authority of the executive branch to control the distribution of funds.
The Supreme Court’s five-to-four decision came after a lower court judge, Amir Ali, had initially suspended the release of the funds and then ordered the administration to release the money by a certain deadline. The administration had appealed the decision, arguing that the lower court had no authority to interfere with the executive branch’s decision to withhold the funds.
The majority of the Supreme Court justices disagreed, stating that the lower court was correct in its decision and that the administration must comply with the order to release the funds. The justices noted that the deadline for the release of the funds had already passed and that the lower court should have the opportunity to determine what obligations the administration must meet to comply with the order.
The administration’s minority on the court, led by Justice Samuel Alito, argued that the majority’s decision was a threat to the separation of powers and the authority of the executive branch. Alito stated that he was “stunned” by the decision, which he believed would allow a single lower court judge to control the release of billions of dollars in taxpayer funds.
The decision is the second time that the Supreme Court has been asked to intervene in a dispute over the release of foreign aid funds. The case is the latest in a series of legal challenges to the administration’s efforts to restrict the release of funds for foreign aid projects.