U.S. President Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to step in and stop billions of dollars in foreign aid that his administration is trying to block.
On Tuesday, Trump’s team filed an emergency appeal, warning that a lower court ruling could force the government to release around $12 billion in aid, which they say could cause “irreversible diplomatic damage” and interfere with the administration’s foreign policy.
The dispute started when the Trump administration wanted to cut funding for global health and HIV/AIDS programs that Congress had already approved.
A district court ordered that the funds be released, despite an earlier ruling from a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit that said only Congress, not nonprofit organizations, can legally challenge such funding changes.
Although the appeals court initially sided with Trump, the full DC Circuit is still reviewing the case. Meanwhile, the district court’s order remains active, prompting the administration to seek urgent intervention from the Supreme Court.
In its filing, the Justice Department argued that the district court has overstepped its authority by acting as “supervisor-in-chief” over government spending decisions.
The administration said the court’s order would force billions to be spent by September 30, potentially harming U.S. foreign policy, and asked the Supreme Court to block the ruling by September 2.
This is not the first time the case has reached the high court. In March, the Supreme Court decided not to freeze the funds while litigation continued, allowing the case to proceed in lower courts.
