The United States Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated a lower-court order for the Trump administration to release frozen foreign aid.
In a 5-4 decision the Court upheld Washington-based U.S. District Judge Amir Ali's order that the administration promptly release funding to contractors and recipients of grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department for their past work.
However the Court did not give the reasons for its unsigned order, or say when the money must resume flowing, allowing the White House to continue to dispute the issue in the lower courts.
Chief Justice John Roberts and fellow conservative Amy Coney Barrett joined the court's three liberal members Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson to form a majority in rejecting the administration's request while conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.
The order by Ali, who is presiding over a challenge to Trump's policy, had originally given the administration until 26 February to disburse almost US$2 billion of funding, which may take weeks to pay in full.
In a dissenting judgement Alito wrote that he was stunned by the majority decision.
"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," Alito wrote.
The plaintiffs include aid organisations that claim in lawsuits that Trump exceeded his authority under federal law and the U.S. Constitution when he ordered a 90-day pause on all foreign aid on his first day back in office on 20 January.
Among them are the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, Journalism Development Network, international development company DAI Global and refugee assistance organisation HIAS.
Trump and his adviser Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest person, are trying to quickly shrink and restructure the U.S. government to make it more efficient.
