The Supreme Court has denied the Trump administration’s request to block a lower court ruling that forces the State Department to pay out $2 billion in foreign assistance, despite concerns that the order was legally dubious and that much of the money would be unrecoverable.
Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh, dissented forcefully, warning that the ruling gives an unchecked district judge the power to compel massive taxpayer-funded payments with no higher court review.
”I am stunned,” Alito wrote, calling the lower court’s actions a “lawless order” that disregarded sovereign immunity and basic judicial restraint.
Additionally, the unsigned majority opinion provided no rationale for its decision, leaving the public in the dark about why the Court’s liberal wing, along with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, sided against Trump and his campaign pledge.
The ruling means the administration must now follow through on the massive payout, despite arguing that the funds, once disbursed, would likely be lost forever.
Alito’s dissent ripped into the Court’s unwillingness to intervene, arguing that the ruling effectively rewards judicial overreach and forces a rushed expenditure of taxpayer dollars with no proper oversight. He criticized the district judge for blocking an appeal and setting an arbitrary 36-hour deadline for payment, ensuring the money would be spent before any meaningful review could occur.
No explanation has been provided by the justices who declined to stop the order, leaving open questions about their legal reasoning and willingness to allow a single judge to dictate executive branch spending. The ruling comes amid growing concerns over judicial activism and the Supreme Court’s refusal to rein in rogue district courts.
Read the full dissent here.
