The high court in a 5–4 decision declined to block a judge’s order to release $2 billion in foreign aid payments.
The Supreme Court on March 5 ruled 5–4 that the Trump administration must follow through with the payment of $2 billion in foreign aid.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote a dissenting opinion that was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh.
U.S. District Judge Amir Ali issued a temporary restraining order last month compelling both USAID and the State Department to restore funding for contracts that predated Jan. 20 but were frozen by the Trump administration.
The plaintiffs challenging the freeze told the judge that the government was slow in fulfilling the order, leading Ali to order the payments to resume.
Alito expressed shock at the court’s new ruling.
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“Does a single district-court judge who likely lacks jurisdiction have the unchecked power to compel the Government of the United States to pay out (and probably lose forever) 2 billion taxpayer dollars?” the justice wrote in his dissent.
“The answer to that question should be an emphatic ‘No,’ but a majority of this Court apparently thinks otherwise. I am stunned.”
Jacob Burg contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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