Trump administration asks US Supreme Court to halt foreign aid payments
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The US Supreme Court in March, by a 5-4 vote, declined to let the administration avoid making those payments.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump’s administration asked the Supreme Court on Aug 26 to intervene in its efforts to withhold billions of dollars from foreign aid organisations and lift an injunction that is forcing it to keep making payments.
The US Department of Justice, in an emergency filing with the 6-3 conservative majority court, noted that a 2-1 panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit earlier in August ruled that the injunction should be overturned.
Despite that ruling, the injunction issued by Washington-based US District Judge Amir Ali remains in effect, after the full federal appeals court last week declined to put it on hold. Judge Ali rejected a similar request on Aug 25.
Mr Trump imposed a 90-day pause on all foreign aid
His executive order was followed by aggressive moves to gut USAid, the main US foreign aid agency, including placing much of its staff on leave and exploring bringing the formerly independent agency under the State Department.
Two non-profit groups that receive federal funding, Aids Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and Journalism Development Network, brought litigation alleging Mr Trump’s funding freeze was unlawful.
The Trump administration, in its filing to the Supreme Court, said the congressionally appropriated funds subject to the injunction comprise tens of billions of dollars, some US$12 billion (S$15.4 billion) of which would need to be spent by the US Department of State before Sept 30, when they expire.
The Republican President’s administration said that without the justices’ intervention, it will be forced to keep making payments before the expiration date, “overriding the Executive Branch’s foreign-policy judgments regarding whether to pursue rescissions and thwarting interbranch dialogue”.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Judge Ali, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden, ordered the Trump administration to pay nearly US$2 billion in outstanding aid to its humanitarian partners worldwide.
The US Supreme Court in March, by a 5-4 vote, declined to let the administration avoid making those payments.
But the DC Circuit panel ruled that the non-profit groups failed to satisfy the requirements for an injunction. US Circuit Judge Karen Henderson, writing for the majority, said only the US Government Accountability Office, a watchdog agency, could challenge Mr Trump's efforts to withhold the funding. REUTERS
