Supreme Court Extends Block on $4–4.9B Aid

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday extended an unsigned 6–3 emergency stay allowing the Trump administration to keep roughly $4–4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid frozen after President Trump invoked a rarely used “pocket rescission,” overturning a lower court’s order that had required the funds to be disbursed. The order said the government had made a sufficient showing at this early stage under the Impoundment Control Act and related principles, and that asserted harms to the Executive’s conduct of foreign affairs outweighed potential harm to the plaintiffs, while stressing it is not a final decision on the merits. The Justice Department had sought emergency relief after U.S. District Judge Amir Ali found the withholding likely illegal and said Congress would need to approve the rescission; Chief Justice Roberts had temporarily blocked the lower-court order on Sept. 9. The disputed funds are part of about $10.5 billion set to expire Sept. 30 and are earmarked in part for U.N. peacekeeping and democracy programs; they could lapse if Congress does not act within the rescission window. Justices Kagan, Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.