Supreme Court temporarily approves Trump's block on congressionally-approved foreign aid

WASHINGTON − The Trump administration doesn't have to take immediate steps to spend billions of dollars in foreign assistance approved by Congress, Chief Justice John Roberts said Sept. 9 in a preliminary ruling that gave the full court more time to consider the legal issues in the case.

The Justice Department had asked the high court to pause a judge's order that the administration release the foreign aid. That includes about $11 billion that needed to be committed by the end of September before the funds expire.

Foreign-aid organizations challenged the administration's ability to refuse to spend funds already allocated by Congress.

The administration said it intended to spend $6.5 billion of the disputed funds but is trying to kill $4 billion through a procedural tactic known as a “pocket recission.”

The money was designated for the U.S. Agency for International Development, a federal entity that the administration has largely dismantled.

U.S. District Judge Amir Ali in Washington, DC, ruled the money must be spent unless Congress affirmatively acts to stop it.

The high court's order paused Ali's ruling that the $4 billion be spent before the end of the month.

After taking office in January, Trump paused all foreign aid and said any assistance that didn’t align with his priorities would be terminated.

In March, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the administration had to pay aid organizations for work they already performed for the government.