A Biden-appointed activist judge has just ordered President Trump to spend billions in USAID and other foreign aid dollars which he canceled earlier this year. The judge claims that it was illegal for Trump to decide not to spend it.
Here’s more from KTLA:
The Trump administration must release billions of dollars in foreign aid approved by Congress, including money that President Donald Trump said last week he would not spend, a federal judge has ordered.
U.S. District Judge Amir Ali in Washington ruled Wednesday that the Republican administration’s decision to withhold the funding was likely illegal. He issued a preliminary injunction ordering the release of $11.5 billion that is set to expire at the end of the month.
“To be clear, no one disputes that Defendants have significant discretion in how to spend the funds at issue, and the Court is not directing Defendants to make payments to any particular recipients,” wrote Ali, who was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden. “But Defendants do not have any discretion as to whether to spend the funds.”
The administration filed a notice of appeal on Thursday.
“President Trump has the executive authority to ensure that all foreign aid is accountable to taxpayers and aligns with the America First priorities people voted for,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement.
The money at issue includes nearly $4 billion for the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, to spend on global health programs and more than $6 billion for HIV and AIDS programs. Trump has portrayed the funding as wasteful spending that does not align with his foreign policy goals, and in January, he issued an executive order directing the State Department and USAID to freeze spending on foreign aid.
This will never stand. My guess is the appeals court will nix this ridiculous decision, because they just gave Trump a victory in a similar case last month:
If the DC appeals court fails for some reason, the Supreme Court will most likely block it. So yeah, I think this decision is DOA.