Hours before a midnight deadline to pay up, Donald Trump called on the Supreme Court to block a judge’s order that requires the administration to unfreeze roughly $2 billion in foreign aid payments.
One day earlier, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. ordered the administration to reinstate funding for U.S. Agency for International Development contracts, arguing that Trump officials failed to comply with an earlier order to fulfill contracts while Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency-led attempt to dissolve the entire aid agency sparks global chaos.
Joe Biden-appointed District Judge Amir Ali reprimanded government lawyers who could not appear to answer whether the administration ever paid foreign assistance contractors and nonprofit organizations for work that had already been performed.
“We’re now 12 days in [after the order], and you can’t answer to me whether any funds you acknowledge are covered by the court’s order are unfrozen?” said “You can’t give me any facts about funds being unfrozen under the [temporary restraining order]?”
Department of Justice lawyer Indraneel Sur told Ali he was “not in a position to answer.”
Ali gave the government until midnight Wednesday to make those payments. The administration was also ordered to provide the court with any notices or guidance that officials sent out about complying with the previous court order to unfreeze aid.
This is a developing story
