Supreme Court Forces White House To Pay Billions To USAID Programs

The Supreme Court has intervened in the Trump administration’s attempt to halt USAID spending, ruling in a 5-4 decision that nearly $2 billion in foreign aid must be disbursed. The ruling upholds a lower court’s decision that demanded the payments, despite warnings from conservative justices that the judiciary is overstepping its authority.

Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the dissenters, criticized the decision, calling it an example of judicial overreach. He questioned whether a single judge, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, should have the power to dictate how the White House spends federal funds. He warned that allowing such intervention sets a dangerous precedent for the courts interfering with executive branch decisions.

The Trump administration had frozen USAID payments as part of a broader effort to cut wasteful foreign aid and reassess how taxpayer dollars are spent. Many of these funds have been directed toward organizations that critics argue push leftist political agendas rather than legitimate humanitarian efforts.

Chief Justice John Roberts had briefly paused Ali’s ruling to allow the Supreme Court to review the case. However, with the court declining to block the payments, Ali now has full authority over the timeline for disbursing the funds.

Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh joined Alito in dissent, emphasizing that allowing a lower court judge to mandate foreign aid payments strips power away from the executive branch.

Following the ruling, Ali quickly scheduled a hearing to determine how soon the administration must comply.

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