In a narrow 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court ordered that President Donald Trump must allow USAID to distribute $2 billion in foreign aid that is currently frozen. In the opening weeks of the Trump administration, the White House has worked to cut down on foreign aid projects and defund the vast network of NGOs operating with American financial support around the globe. 

Chief Justice John Roberts and Trump-appointee Amy Coney Barrett joined the three liberal justices – Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson – in their ruling against the White House. The five justices upheld a decision by a district court judge that required the Trump administration to release $2 billion in foreign aid that the president ordered frozen. 

In one of Trump’s first acts after returning to the Oval Office, he ordered a freeze on all foreign aid. Last month, a federal district judge, Amir Ali, issued a temporary order to the White House preventing the “suspending, pausing, or otherwise preventing” foreign assistance funds. When the administration did not comply, the judge issued a second order, and the White House appealed to the Supreme Court. 

While the ruling against the White House ordered the enforcement of Judge Ali’s decision, legal analysts explain the Trump administration can further litigate the issue. CNN Supreme Court analyst Steve Vladeck explained that the unsigned order “does not actually require the Trump administration to immediately make up to $2 billion in foreign aid payments; it merely clears the way for the district court to compel those payments, presumably if it is more specific about the contracts that have to be honored.”

In the dissent authored by Justice Samuel Alito, he blasted the majority for rewarding “an act of judicial hubris” by Judge Ali. Alito said he was “stunned” by the ruling, arguing that Judge Ali lacked the authority to order the White House to distribute the aid. 

“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) 2 billion taxpayer dollars? The answer to that question should be an emphatic ‘No,’ but a majority of this Court apparently thinks otherwise,” he explained. 

The White House is attempting to eliminate 90% of USAID programs and move the remaining activities under the control of the State Department. Washington has long used USAID as a covert method to support regime change operations across the globe.