Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the liberals Wednesday in reining in some of the Trump administration’s effort to block foreign aid that had been appropriated by Congress.
The justices left in place a lower court order that required the Trump administration to lift its freeze on paying about $2 billion in foreign aid to contractors for work that had already been completed.
The case was considered by many an early test of the right-wing justices’ willingness to break with Trump, as he withholds appropriated funds and slashes the federal government workforce in an attempt to consolidate more power from other parts of the executive branch. It hinges on billions of dollars in aid for services rendered that the Trump administration began to withhold in January, just days after he took office.
Several nonprofits that had been set to receive the funds sued in February to return the money. They argued that Trump had usurped Congress’ authority over the power of the purse while running afoul of a statute that mandates how federal agencies are to make decisions.
At the district level, Judge Amir Ali initially ordered the Trump administration to restart the spending. But after widespread reports that the administration had not restarted payments, Ali set a deadline for Trump to comply with his order.
Rather than do that, the Trump administration launched an appeal process that went lightning fast by appellate court standards. In a brief to the court, the Trump administration said that it was reviewing individual payment requests but was unable to move quickly enough to meet the deadline.
Noting that the Trump administration application does “not challenge the Government’s obligation to follow that order,” the Supreme Court majority on Wednesday sent the case back to the district court, ordering it to “clarify what obligations the Government must fulfill to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order, with due regard for the feasibility of any compliance timelines.”
Justice Alito, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, wrote a furious dissent, taking gratuitous shots at Judge Ali.
“The Government must apparently pay the $2 billion posthaste — not because the law requires it, but simply because a District Judge so ordered,” Alito wrote. “As the Nation’s highest court, we have a duty to ensure that the power entrusted to federal judges by the Constitution is not abused. Today, the Court fails to carry out that responsibility.”
He wrote that Ali didn’t have the jurisdiction to make the government pay out the money, and that the injury weighs much heavier on the government, which will likely be unable to recover the aid money, than with the people on its receiving end.
He was dismissive of the most concerning vein in the case, the Trump administration’s apparent refusal to fully comply with Ali’s order — all while Trump and those in his orbit grow louder in advocating that he disregard any court orders he doesn’t like.
“A federal court has many tools to address a party’s supposed nonfeasance,” Alito quipped. “Self-aggrandizement of its jurisdiction is not one of them.”
Now comes the second part of the test. Roberts and Barrett, at least, proved willing to reject the administration’s attempt to withhold congressionally appropriated funds for foreign aid work that has already been completed. Whether the Trump administration will comply with this order — or ignore it, sparking a constitutional crisis — is an open question.
The case hinges on billions of dollars in aid that the Trump administration began to withhold in January, just days after he took office. It was one of the first volleys in the Trump administration’s campaign to cripple parts of the federal government while arrogating whatever was left in the office of the presidency.
Several nonprofits that had been set to receive the funds sued in February to return the money. They argued that Trump had usurped Congress’ authority over the power of the purse while running afoul of a statute that mandates how federal agencies are to make decisions.
At the district level, Judge Amir Ali initially ordered the Trump administration to restart the spending. But after widespread reports that the administration had not restarted payments, Ali set a deadline for Trump to comply with his order.
Rather than do that, the Trump administration launched an appeal process that went lightning fast by appellate court standards. In a brief to the court, the Trump administration said that it was reviewing individual payment requests but claimed it was unable to move quickly enough to meet the deadline.
Per the ruling, the payments will not resume immediately. Judge Ali will instead have to show “due regard for the feasibility of any compliance timelines” and further “clarify” what the Trump administration needs to do in order to restart funding.
Read the decision here:
