Supreme Court Justice John G. Roberts Jr. handed the Trump administration a victory for now Wednesday night, saying that he wouldn’t have to pay more than $1.5 billion in aid work already completed by the US International Development Agency and the State Department.
A federal judge had set a midnight deadline for government agencies to release funds for foreign aid work. In an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court hours before the deadline, the Trump administration said the judge had stepped over his powers and obstructed the president’s obligation to “make appropriate judgments about foreign aid.”
Supreme Court Justice Roberts acted on his own and issued an “Administrative Stay.” This is a temporary measure aimed at maintaining the status quo, and justice considers the issue in a more deliberate way. The Supreme Court ordered the challenger to submit a response to the application on Friday, and the court is likely to act soon.
But even tentative, it was the administration’s first victory in a flood of incidents that justice could hear in the blitz of President Trump’s executive action.
Lawyers for the Trump administration said they are closing in on U.S. agencies on International Development and State Department contracts and grants to implement the President’s Day 1 directive on Wednesday, another offensive move to implement the President’s Day 1 directive, which is to close the U.S. on international development and State Department contracts and grants.
The pair of administrative action has surprised diplomats and aid workers and are already caught up in mass shootings at USAID. A former senior USAID official said Cut accounts for around 90% of the agency’s work and tens of thousands of dollars in spending.
Cutt deals with “it will devastatingly blow to the implementation partners of the USAID and the groups they serve, bankrupting many lives, saving lives, and shutting down important programs forever.”
Several aid workers and USAID officials said the president’s emergency plan for AIDS relief, or at least some money for the Pepfah, was eliminated.
Other termination agreements included a contract with the Urban Search and Rescue Team with Virginia and California’s Urban Search and Rescue Team, which unfolded in the wake of natural disasters such as the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria two years ago, former USAID officials said. The programme also previously recognized humanitarian exceptions from the freeze on foreign aid by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Trump administration lawyers outlined sudden foreign aid cuts in a status report on the administration’s progress in compliance with the February 13 order by U.S. District Court Judge Amir Ali in the District of Columbia. In the order, he said the government must pay the funds and grants recipients who already work with foreign aid contractors around the world and say that US-backed programs will save countless lives and increase American influence overseas.
Trump and other US officials argue that foreign aid, which accounts for about 1% of the federal budget, has grown in vain and is being separated from the important American interests.
However, critics have warned that Trump has said that he “dangerously undermines America’s ability to win” and that he “dangerously undermines America’s attacks,” as President of the US Global Leadership Coalition said in a statement.
Wednesday’s move is the latest twist in the tug-of-war of war between the Trump administration and the legal system, with administration officials saying they are working to follow the orders while they are simultaneously looking for ways around them.
After Trump in January Ordering Institution The aid group sued to suspend almost all foreign aid spending for 90 days while staff reviewed individual projects. They argued that the suspension would risk their mission and the lives of millions of people who rely on programs the US government has funded for decades.
On February 13, Judge Ali issued an order requiring agencies to announce funding for “contracts, grants, cooperation agreements, loans or other federal foreign support awards,” which were in existence as of January 19, the day before Trump took office.
However, post-group groups, including those who filed the lawsuit, report that funds did not recover. At hearing Tuesday, the lawyer told Judge Ali the only reasonable explanation was that the government had never taken steps to lift the blanket with foreign aid.
In its submission, the administration argued that it had fulfilled the court’s request by ending the program’s “good and personalised assessment” as the agency proceeded to review its grants and contracts and determined that all but a few of them would be cancelled.
“USAID is in the process of processing end characters that are targeted to reach substantial completion within the next 24-48 hours,” he said. “As a result, USAID or state obligations remain in suspended or suspended states.”
According to the submission, the government has decided to identify and maintain about 3,200 contracts and granted the grant saying it is “committed to moving forward with the remaining awards fully.”
Judge Ali repeatedly pressed lawyers representing the government to clarify whether the funds have been released since the order earlier this month. The lawyers were unable to point out any indication that the aid was flowing, and Judge Ali issued a new midnight deadline to the government to pay unpaid bills or drawdown requests that had been due prior to the February 13 order.
According to Pete Marocco, the top appointee of foreign aid, the ongoing hold-up was, at least in part, due to logistical issues. Marrocco said the two agencies face unpaid payment requests totaling nearly $2 billion.
“These payments will not be achieved in the time allocated by the court and will instead take weeks,” he wrote in a document supporting the government’s argument. Submitted on Wednesday.
In their own submission on Wednesday, the group that poses a legal challenge to the Trump administration listed complaints about how the Trump administration went.
In it, the lawyer argued that Trump officials have “added a new review layer to all payments of foreign aid funds, including demanding line-by-line policy justification for payments for past jobs already approved through the usual approval process.”
The lawyer pointed to a statement of oath by aid workers who said on Tuesday they were unable to work abroad, including paying for HIV drugs purchased with US aid.
The State Department issued Pepfar waives a few weeks ago, allowing funding for those programs. but Some statement It said that the invoices related to Pepfer have not yet been paid, filed on Wednesday.
A statement filed in favour of the group that he sued on Wednesday detailed other harm.
“In my portfolio, this means that starving children will not receive immediate use medical foods. Pregnant and breastfeeding women will not be screened for malnutrition, and refugee households will not be provided with vouchers to purchase food for their families.” I wrote it With a declaration.
Government lawyers said the deadline for Judge Ali to maintain aid is unrealistic.
“Resuming funds related to a contract that has been terminated or suspended is not as simple as turning on a switch or faucet, so it takes extra time,” they write.
The aid group’s lawyers asked the court to call Marrocco and Rubio on Wednesday. In their submission, they stated that the administrative lawyers “showed that they would resist.”
However, the plaintiff’s lawyer said the administrative attorney said Rubio had “personal involvement” in his decision on foreign aid funding, making his testimony essential.
