The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to block a federal judge’s order requiring the government to release nearly $2 billion in foreign aid payments by midnight on Wednesday, arguing the deadline is unworkable and poses risks to executive authority.
The Justice Department in an emergency filing contended that the administration needs more time to review outstanding payments for fraud and abuse and warned that complying with the rushed timeline could lead to irreversible financial harm.
“The order does not limit its abrupt deadline to respondents’ own invoices or letters of credit, instead apparently compelling the government to pay requests from any organization that has asked for such funds,” acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris wrote.
The dispute stems from a lawsuit filed by aid groups and contractors challenging Trump’s executive order that froze foreign aid disbursements for a 90-day review. U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, an appointee of President Donald Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, had previously ruled that the freeze was unlawful and issued a temporary restraining order in February requiring the government to lift it. However, the plaintiffs claim they still have not been paid.
On Tuesday, Ali issued a new ruling giving the administration until 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday to release the funds, criticizing officials for failing to comply with his prior order. During a hearing, government lawyer Indraneel Sur was unable to specify any steps taken to process the payments.
The new ruling marked the third time Ali had ordered the administration to release foreign aid funds that were frozen after Trump ordered a 90-pause on all foreign aid. Trump’s request came as the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia refused to halt the midnight deadline Wednesday evening.
The Trump administration has “not shown that the enforcement orders disrupt the status quo by requiring them to do anything more than they would have had to do absent the temporarily restrained agency actions, which are the subject of ongoing preliminary injunction briefing,” according to the three-judge panel’s decision.
JUDGE SAYS TRUMP HAS NOT COMPLIED WITH RULING ON SUSPENSION OF FOREIGN AID
Plaintiffs in the case say Trump’s sweeping aid freeze, including the stop-work orders halting U.S. Agency for International Development around the world, have thrown global humanitarian relief efforts into disarray.
But the administration argues that the order’s sweeping nature, covering all foreign aid recipients, improperly limits the president’s discretion and circumvents standard review processes.