Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow foreign aid cuts: Report

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump’s administration made an emergency filing on Sept 8 asking the US Supreme Court to allow it to freeze billions in foreign aid that had been approved by Congress, the Washington Post reported on Sept 8.

The request came after a US appeals court on Sept 5 declined to block a lower court ruling that said the Trump administration could not unilaterally cut billions of dollars of foreign aid, requiring the administration to quickly move to spend congressionally authorised funds.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit made its ruling just days after a lower court ruled that the administration should take steps to spend roughly US$11 billion (S$14.1 billion) on foreign aid projects before congressional authorisation for the spending expires in September.

Mr Trump imposed a 90-day pause on all foreign aid on Jan 20, the same day he was inaugurated for a second term in the White House. His executive order was followed by moves to gut the US Agency for International Development, the main US foreign aid agency, which the Trump administration has largely dismantled.

After being sued by aid groups that expected to compete for the funding in 2025, the Trump administration said it intended to spend US$6.5 billion of the funds appropriated for foreign aid in 2024. But it moved to

withhold US$4 billion in funding appropriated for the USAID.

The lower court judge, US District Judge Amir Ali in Washington, ruled that the administration cannot simply choose not to spend the money, and said it remains under a duty to comply with appropriations laws unless Congress changes them.

Judge Ali’s order, if it survives throughout the appeal process, would prevent Mr Trump from effectively bypassing Congress to cancel foreign aid funding.

While the lawsuit proceeded, Mr Trump sought to block US$4 billion in disputed funding through a “pocket rescission” that bypasses Congress. REUTERS