Supreme Court lets Trump withhold $4 billion in foreign aid approved by Congress
Source: CNN
The Supreme Court on Friday allowed President Donald Trump to freeze $4 billion in foreign aid payments, handing the White House a significant victory in its months-long quest to claw back spending that was approved by Congress last year.
At issue is $4 billion in foreign aid, including for global health and HIV programs, that was allocated by Congress, but that Trump deemed wasteful and has been fighting on two fronts. In addition to defending the aid cuts in federal court, his administration is also seeking to “rescind” the money through Congress.
The court’s decision could effectively give the president a roadmap to cancel more congressionally approved money in the future. And it comes as Congress is barreling toward a deadline Tuesday night to fund the government or risk shuttering federal agencies.
The court’s three liberal justices – Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson – dissented from the decision.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/26/politics/supreme-court-lets-trump-withhold-billions-in-foreign-aid
= new reply since forum marked as read
will Hoard it for himself. 
The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Trump administration to withhold $4 billion in foreign aid that had been appropriated by Congress in a major test of Mr. Trump’s efforts to wrest the power of the purse from the legislature.
In its brief order, the court’s conservative majority said the president’s ability to conduct foreign affairs “appear to outweigh the potential harm” faced by foreign aid recipients. The court cautioned that its decision, technically a temporary holding while litigation continues through the lower courts, “should not be read as a final determination on the merits.”
The three liberal justices dissented, saying the issue before the court is too consequential to address through the emergency docket without full briefing or argument.
Legal reasoning offered by the majority to justify the executive usurpation of the power of the purse: none.
Kagan, after clearly explaining why the Trump administration’s argument that the Impoundment Control Act preclude the lawsuit is facially inconsistent with the text, purpose, and history of the statute:
Because of the September 30th deadline staying the lower courts means that the duly appropriated money will not ever be disbursed. Alas, the only balance of equities rule being currently applied by the Supreme Court is “Trump wins.”
https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2025/09/republicans-on-supreme-court-continue-their-article-i-nullification-campaign
I would point out the "potential harm" faced by foreign aid recipients is death. You have to be a true monster to think that Trump's ability to override aid that Congress has granted outweighs many deaths.
