The U.S. Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to temporarily pause $4 billion in foreign aid, giving the court more time to review the case.
Chief Justice John Roberts issued the emergency reprieve Tuesday afternoon after the administration appealed a lower court ruling, requiring the government to dole out the money by the end of the fiscal year, ending Sept. 30.
Representing the Trump administration, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer urged the court to pause what he argues is an “unlawful injunction” issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The case stems from an executive order President Donald Trump signed at the beginning of his second term, ordering the federal government to put on hold foreign aid so the government could review how it would be spent.
At the center of the fight are frozen funds intended for the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Challengers of the order argue that the funds were already approved by Congress, making it unlawful. D.C. Circuit Jude Amir Ali ordered the government to “make available for obligation the full amount of funds that Congress” approved for foreign aid.
In an appeal to the Supreme Court, Sauer claimed the lower court ruling “raises a grave and urgent threat to the separation of powers.”
Since February, the case has bounced between lower courts, prompting the administration to appeal to the highest court.
While Tuesday’s order is not a complete victory for the Trump administration, it marks another favorable move by the highest court in the administration’s favor.
