Four conservatives Supreme Court Justice Wednesday sparked dissent on Wednesday after the majority rejected a request from the Trump administration to continue to temporarily freeze payments for foreign aid.
Judge Samuel Alito allowed a majority in the High Court because it allowed lower court judges to single-handedly determine the time the Trump administration paid nearly $2 million in payment for previously completed foreign aid programs, an order he called “too extreme.”
Alito called the decision an “unfortunate mistake” in a harsh eight-page objection, saying lower court judge Amir Ali, said he said “rewarded judicial arrogance.”
SCOTUS stipulates nearly $2 billion in USD payments
DC’s Susan Schorr held an anti-Elon Musk logo and the U.S. flag in Washington, DC on February 3, 2025 in protest against the U.S. International Development Agency Headquarters (USAID). (Pete Kiehart gets The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“Does a single district judge who may lack jurisdiction have unrestricted powers to force the U.S. government to repay (possibly lose) $2 billion in taxpayers’ money? The answer to this question should be an emphasis on ‘no no’, but most of this court obviously would have thought of it,” Alito wrote.
“I was stunned.”
He joined his objection, joined by Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
Although Alito and other dissenting justices acknowledged that the plaintiffs raised “serious concerns about not paying” on Wednesday for completing the work, they argued that Justice Ali’s repayment order and timeframe were “too extreme” because it allowed the government to comply with the government in just two weeks.
Supreme Court Justice inaugurates at Trump’s presidential inauguration ceremony in Washington (Ricky Carioti / The Washington Post via Getty)
“The district courts are frustrated by the government, and respondents are seriously concerned about the non-payment of the work done,” they said in their objection. “However, the relief ordered is an extreme response.”
The 5-4 Supreme Court ruling returned the case to Judge Amir Ali, a federal court and U.S. District Court, to reduce the details of what must be paid and when to pay.
Retired U.S. Agency for International Development and Workers Julie Hanson Swanson left to support U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) outside the U.S. Agency for Humanitarian Affairs in Washington, Friday, February 21, 2025. (Manuel Balce Ceneta)
In this case, in how quickly the Trump administration needs to pay nearly $2 billion to aid groups and contractors in a completed project funded by the United States International Development Agency (USAID), the government released all foreign spending and eliminated waste in the name of government “efficiency”.
The funds have been frozen, as part of the administration’s all foreign aid, prompting international groups and contractors to file lawsuits last month, prompting the Trump administration to file an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice John Roberts stepped in and agreed to suspend the timeline to allow the entire court to consider the case.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Sarah Harris argued that the time set by lower court judge U.S. District Court Judge Amir Ali is “impossible” despite the plaintiff’s claims that may be “legitimate.” and “logically or technically not feasible.”
Judge Ali quickly took action on unpaid foreign aid cases on Wednesday – a new court hearing was set on Thursday afternoon to consider the matter.
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Lawyers on both sides should be prepared to discuss the proposed Trump administration’s compliance with outstanding payments, the court said in a one-minute order.
Judge Alito appeared to support the debate in Wednesday’s ethnic dissent.
Fox News’s Jake Gibson contributed to the report.
