The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the Trump administration must release roughly $2B in funds for foreign development assistance, rejecting a White House request to put a lower court's ruling on hold in an unsigned 5-4 decision. The decision, outlined in a single paragraph, is the biggest by the court affecting moves by the new Trump administration.
The funds represent a small part of the US Agency for International Development's roughly $40B annual budget and relate to work already performed before Feb. 13. The ruling does not affect a larger freezing of the agency, which has been effectively shuttered and wrapped into the State Department.
In related news, congressional leaders are negotiating paths to keep the federal government open ahead of a March 14 funding deadline.
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