The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the federal government to release nearly USD 2 billion (EUR 1.8 million) in funding for United States Agency for International Development (USAID) partners, frustrating U.S. President Donald Trump’s attempt to quickly freeze all foreign aid funding.
The ruling will help USAID partners who have already completed contracted work get reimbursed, but current and future USAID spending remains unlikely, with the Trump administration moving quickly to cancel contracts and eliminate future spending obligations.
Shortly after taking office, Trump issued an executive order freezing spending on foreign programs, immediately halting the flow of billions of dollars in expected funding for international development efforts. The unexpected pause in funding left many USAID partners – including those working on developing and improving foreign fisheries – with an immediate funding gap.
Two major USAID partners – AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and the Global Health Council – sued the Trump administration to unfreeze roughly USD 2 billion in reimbursements for USAID work that had already been completed. The NGOs had initial success in the lower courts, with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issuing a temporary restraining order to block the freeze, ordering the federal government to continue issuing funding for projects where work had already been completed.
The Trump administration challenged the district court decision, but in a tight 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ultimately upheld the lower court’s decision 5 March. The court order backing the district court ruling was brief, but Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito issued a scathing dissenting opinion arguing that the district court had overstepped.
“Does a single district-court judge, who likely lacks jurisdiction, have the unchecked power to compel the government of the United States to pay out (and probably lose forever) USD 2 billion in taxpayer dollars?” Alito said in a dissenting opinion. “The answer to that question should be an emphatic ‘No,’ but a majority of this court apparently thinks otherwise. I am stunned.”
While the Supreme Court order requires the federal government to reimburse USAID partners for work that has already been completed, future and current spending remains in limbo.
The court battle involves only a fraction of the roughly USD 40 billion (EUR 37 million) in annual USAID funding that the Trump administration is working to slash. More than 4,000 USAID workers have been abruptly put on leave, while the agency’s remaining obligations have been transferred to the U.S. Department of State, which has since opted to eliminate roughly 90 percent of USAID grants.
USAID partners working on foreign fisheries projects have been left without expected funding, requiring them ...
