Trump Admin Asks SCOTUS For Relief In USAID Funding Case
The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to block a lower court order attempting to compel the government to disburse billions of dollars in foreign grants.
In his emergency application, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer requested the justices to stay an order from D.C. District Court Judge Amir Ali. That directive instructed the Trump administration to disburse billions of dollars in U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) grants for various nongovernmental organizations.
“This Court should stay the district court’s preliminary injunction requiring the government to make available for obligation the full amount of the funds Congress appropriated in the 2024 Appropriations Act,” Sauer wrote.
The case stems back to the early weeks of the administration, when Secretary of State Marco Rubio — in compliance with an executive order by President Trump — issued a freeze on all USAID grants. The move prompted legal action by various recipients of the funds, with plaintiffs filing their case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Like clockwork, Biden-appointed Judge Amir Ali issued a Feb. 25 directive ordering the Trump administration to resume distributing the grant money to their intended recipients. This ultimately led the government to file a motion with SCOTUS asking the high court to pause Ali’s ruling. (Read more from “Trump Admin Asks SCOTUS For Relief In USAID Funding Case” HERE)
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr
