Yahoo News by John Kruzel 9/26/2025
The U.S. Supreme Court sided again on Friday with Donald Trump, allowing his administration to withhold about $4 billion in foreign aid authorized by Congress for the current fiscal year as the Republican president pursues his "America First" agenda.
The case raises questions involving the degree to which a president has the authority to rescind funds Congress has appropriated for programs that do not align with his policies. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse.
The justices for now granted the Justice Department's request to block Washington-based U.S. District Judge Amir Ali's order that had directed the administration to promptly take steps to spend the aid at issue in the dispute. Ali's decision came in a lawsuit by aid groups challenging the administration's action.
The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority. The court's three liberal justices dissented.
The court said in its unsigned order that the aid groups may lack the legal authority to bring their challenge. It also expressed concerns that ruling against Trump at this stage in the case threatened to impair his power to conduct foreign affairs.
The court's liberals, in a dissent written by Justice Elena Kagan, called the ruling an affront to the constitutional principle that power is separated between the three branches - executive, legislative and judicial - of the U.S. government. They noted that the Constitution "gives Congress the power to make spending decisions through the enactment of appropriations laws."
More:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/us-supreme-court-lets-trump-204803376.html
