Supreme Court rejects Trump on USAID foreign aid freeze

The Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s order requiring the United States Agency for International Development and the State Department to pay immediately approximately $2 billion owed to contractors for work already completed.

The ruling comes after a temporary stay issued by Chief Justice John Roberts on Feb. 26, which paused a lower court’s mandate that compelled the government to disburse the funds by midnight that day. But in a 5-4 decision Wednesday, the justices denied the Trump administration’s request to vacate the lower court’s order, allowing the payments to proceed. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.