The Supreme Court temporarily blocked on Wednesday a federal judge’s order for the Trump administration to release billions in foreign aid by midnight.
Chief Justice John Roberts granted the administration’s emergency appeal for an administrative stay, which gives the Supreme Court some time to review the arguments in the case.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ordered the federal government to pay nearly $2 billion in unpaid invoices from foreign aid contractors by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday.
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Ali issued the order after the Trump administration refused to heed an earlier directive for the State Department to resume payments to foreign aid groups.
President Donald Trump placed a 90-day hold on foreign aid on his first day in January, citing a need to reevaluate its compliance with U.S. foreign policy.
In an emergency filing, acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris said the deadline set by the district court made full compliance “impossible.”
Harris said the court’s order “blocks the Executive Branch not only from ensuring that foreign-aid payments are consistent with the President’s policy priorities, but from conducting even basic diligence to ensure that payments are free from fraud and abuse.”
She also called the order “an extraordinary usurpation of the President’s authority, causing significant and irreparable harm.”
A deadline was given for noon Friday by Roberts for the organizations challenging the Trump admin to respond.
Still, the administration said it remained committed to paying for work that was properly completed. The State Department will pay $4 million to two respondents on Wednesday and USAID was authorized to pay for $11 million in other invoices, Harris said.
DOGE chief Elon Musk earlier called for the impeachment of judges after a flurry of court orders, including Ali’s, blocked the Trump administration’s plans.
“The only way to restore rule of the people in America is to impeach judges,” Musk wrote in an X post. “If ANY judge ANYWHERE can block EVERY Presidential order EVERYWHERE, we do NOT have democracy, we have TYRANNY of the JUDICIARY.”
