Supreme Court rejects Trump administration's bid to avoid paying USAID contractors
The Supreme Court ensured the Trump administration must pay up to $2 billion to U.S. Agency for International Development contractors even as it works to dismantle the agency at a breakneck pace.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday backed a federal judge's power to order the Trump administration to pay $2 billion to U.S. Agency for International Development contractors but did not require immediate payment.
In doing so, the court on a 5-4 vote rejected an emergency application filed by the Justice Department after U.S. District Judge Amir Ali issued a series of rulings demanding the government unfreeze funds that President Donald Trump put on hold with an executive order.
The court delayed acting on the case for a week. In the meantime, the contractors have not been paid.
Volunteers at a displacement camp unload an aid delivery from USAID in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, on Dec. 17, 2021.J. Countess / Getty Images fileIn an unsigned order, the court said that Ali's deadline for the immediate payment had now passed and the case is already proceeding in the district court, with more rulings to come.
As such, Ali "should clarify what obligations the government must fulfill" in order to comply with a temporary retraining order issued Feb. 13, the court said. Ali should consider "the feasibility of any compliance deadlines," the court added.
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