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SCOTUS rules against Trump on frozen USAID payments, one Justice is ‘stunned’

March 5, 2025 | | Print Article

The Supreme Court has officially ruled on the frozen USAID payments totaling nearly $2 billion.

The 5-4 ruling denied President Donald Trump’s attempt to block a lower court’s ruling for the foreign aid money to be disbursed as originally planned. This includes money that was scheduled to be paid for projects that had already been completed. The case has now been sent back to the district court to settle the details of the payments, potentially allowing the Trump administration to continue blocking certain portions of the payments.

“Given that the deadline in the challenged order has now passed, and in light of the ongoing preliminary injunction proceedings, the District Court should clarify what obligations the Government must fulfill to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order, with due regard for the feasibility of any compliance timelines,” the Court’s ruling read.

Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito voiced their dissent from the ruling.

“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 answer to that question should be an emphatic ‘No,’ but a majority of this Court apparently thinks otherwise,” Alito seethed. “I am stunned.”

“Chief Justice John Roberts agreed last Wednesday to temporarily pause a lower court’s decision requiring the Trump administration to pay by 11:59 p.m. all outstanding invoices to foreign aid groups, an amount totaling roughly $1.9 billion – a timeline the Justice Department had argued was ‘impossible’ to comply with,” Fox News reported. “Roberts did not give a reason for agreeing to pause the order issued by U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, a Biden appointee, though the chief justice had widely been expected to refer the matter to the full court for review.”

X users were not happy with the ruling:

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