On Wednesday, March 5, 2025, WBAL-TV 11 reported that the Supreme Court has turned down a request from the Trump administration to challenge a federal judge’s order regarding the release of foreign aid. In a close 5-4 decision, the court instructed U.S. District Judge Amir Ali to provide clarification on his previous ruling, which mandated the release of nearly $2 billion in aid for projects that had already been completed.
The dissenting opinion, led by Justice Samuel Alito and supported by four conservative justices, argued that Judge Ali overstepped his authority with his order. Alito expressed disbelief that the court would support what he termed “an act of judicial hubris.” The Supreme Court’s ruling upholds Ali’s temporary restraining order that had suspended the freeze on foreign aid spending.
The majority of the justices noted that the administration did not dispute Ali’s initial order but instead focused on the imposed deadline for compliance.
The Trump administration has contended that the circumstances have shifted, as it has moved from a blanket freeze on spending to making individual assessments, resulting in the cancellation of approximately 5,800 contracts from the U.S. Agency for International Development and around 4,100 grants from the State Department, totaling nearly $60 billion in aid.
On February 13, Judge Ali had ordered the temporary restoration of funding. However, he later expressed concerns that the government was not showing any intention to comply with his order and set a deadline for the payment of completed work. The administration has characterized Ali’s ruling as “incredibly intrusive and profoundly erroneous,” objecting to the timeline established for the release of funds.
Source: WBAL-TV 11
