SCOTUS pauses judge’s order requiring Trump administration pay foreign aid contractors
According To USA TODAY
The order by Chief Justice John Roberts was the first time the Supreme Court has intervened as judges have temporarily blocked the administration from taking huge steps to reshape the government.
WASHINGTON − Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday granted the Trump administration’s emergency request to pause a judge’s order requiring the government to pay foreign assistance dollars to contractors and grant recipients.
Arriving hours before the lower court’s midnight deadline, Robert’s order was the first time the Supreme Court has intervened as judges have temporarily blocked the White House from taking huge steps to reshape the government and consolidate power.
The Trump administration told the Supreme Court Wednesday night it is committed to paying “legitimate claims” but complying with a federal judge’s midnight deadline was “not logistically or technically feasible.”
Roberts agreed to put the order on hold and told the grant recipients waiting for their funding to tell the court by Friday why the order should go forward.
The development takes place immediately after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit dismissed a plea by the government. The unit of three members that heard the appeals, all chosen by Democrats, held that the particular injunction issued by the trial judge is not appealable to any higher court.
Roberts did not give a reason for his decision.
President Donald Trump ordered a pause on foreign aid on his first day in office, throwing humanitarian relief efforts into chaos.
Organizations that contract with or receive grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department have charged the Trump administration with illegally freezing payments.
More:Trump administration eliminating 1,600 USAID jobs in the US
U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, who was appointed to the bench by former President Joe Biden, temporarily blocked the administration from enacting a blanket freeze as he considers the challenge.
He also directed the government to pay contractors who had completed work before the freeze.
When the contractors complained they still hadn’t gotten paid, Ali ordered the administration to do so by midnight Wednesday.
“The lengths that the government is willing to go to flout a court order, all for the goal of ending life-saving humanitarian assistance, is staggering,” said Allison Zieve, a lawyer representing two plaintiffs, AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and Journalism Development Network.
The Justice Department argued that the administration is working in good faith to comply but that the judge’s “arbitrary timeline” is too tight.
“The timing of the order does not allow the government to conduct payment integrity review to ensure that payments are made only for obligations that are legitimate or supported by necessary documentation — much less deny improper payments,” Sarah Harris, the acting solicitor general, told the Supreme Court.
More:USAID aimed for ‘soft power’ but ended up in DOGE’s crosshairs. Here’s how.
She said about $4 million in payments to two organizations was initiated Wednesday but they take two days to process. Another $11 million has been approved and will be fully issued within two weeks.
The State Department has said the administration is cutting more than 90% of USAID’s foreign aid contracts and over $58 billion in overall U.S. assistance around the world. For More Information Choose The Reference.
