The Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to freeze more than $4 billion in foreign aid after President Donald Trump attempted to cancel the funds through a rare “pocket rescission.” In a 6–3 decision, the justices granted the administration’s emergency appeal, pausing a lower court ruling that had ordered the money to be released. “This is a massive victory in restoring the President’s authority to implement his policies,” a White House Office of Management and Budget spokesperson told the New York Post. The court’s majority concluded that the potential harm to the executive branch’s conduct of foreign affairs outweighed any damage to the nonprofit groups that sued to block the freeze.
The case stems from Trump’s decision last month to revoke more than $4 billion in previously approved foreign aid, including $3.2 billion for USAID programs, $322 million from the joint USAID–State Department Democracy Fund, and $521 million for international organizations. The “pocket rescission” maneuver was submitted to Congress just before the end of the fiscal year, ensuring it would take effect without congressional approval—marking the first use of the tactic in nearly 50 years. Earlier, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta Ali ruled the administration could not withhold the funds without Congress affirming the rescission, writing that the law “explicitly” reserves that authority for lawmakers.
In a related development, the Supreme Court also agreed to hear a case testing Trump’s power to remove Federal Trade Commission members without cause—a challenge that could reshape the balance between presidential authority and agency independence. The justices temporarily allowed Trump to remove FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter while the case proceeds. The court’s three liberal justices—Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—dissented, warning that the order grants the president “full control” over agencies Congress intended to keep politically independent.
