Supreme Court Allows Trump To Withhold $4B In Funds Allocated By Congress
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Trump administration can withhold $4 billion in foreign aid previously allocated by Congress.
The court ruled 6-3 Friday to stay a a federal judge’s ruling that the administration had to release the funds by the end of the fiscal year, which hits on Sept. 30.
The justices did not hear oral arguments or give any reasoning for the conservative majority decision.
The order noted that “the asserted harms to the Executive’s conduct of foreign affairs appear to outweigh the potential harm” to the groups earmarked to receive the foreign aid funds.
The plaintiffs — led by the Global Health Council — sued after the Trump administration notified lawmakers that it would not spend the $4 billion in funds allocated to foreign aid but said it would spend another $6.5 billion that Congress appropriated.
In the dissent, liberal Justice Elena Kagan wrote, “We therefore should have denied this application, allowed the lower courts to go forward, and ensured that the weighty question presented here receives the consideration it deserves.”
Chief Justice John Roberts had issued a temporary stay in the case on Sept. 9 while the court decided how to proceed, ultimately ruling to keep the freeze in place.
According to NBC News analysis Congress is unlikely to respond to the ruling since it has its hands full with approving a continuing resolution, lest the government shut down after Sept. 30.
“The administration’s decision to wait until the end of the fiscal year to notify Congress is a legally questionable tactic that has been called a ‘pocket rescission‘ and has not been used in nearly 50 years,” NBC News reported.
