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, referring to the “reward judicial arrogance” by U.S. District Court Judge Amir Ali.
SCOTUS stipulates nearly $2 billion in USD payments
Susan Schorr holds anti-Elon musk sign at protests at the U.S. International Development Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C. on February 3, 2025 (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 objection judges acknowledged that the plaintiffs raised a “serious concern for non-payment” on Wednesday to complete the work, they believed Ali’s repayment order and timeframe were “too extreme” as it kept the government complying for only two weeks.
Supreme Court Justice attends Trump’s presidential inauguration ceremony in Washington, D.C. (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 the Federal Court of the District of Columbia and withdrew Judge Ali to reduce the details of what must be paid and when to pay.
On February 21, 2025, outside the U.S. International Development Office in Washington, DC, retired U.S. International Development worker Julie Hanson Swanson joined other agency supporters along with other agency supporters. (Photo by Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
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 while the plaintiff’s claim may be “legitimate,” the time set by Alibaba is “impossible” and “logically or technically unfeasible.”
As for Ali, he acted quickly on Wednesday to take action against unpaid foreign aid cases – 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.
Fox News’s Jake Gibson contributed to the report.
