Supreme Court asked to block order mandating foreign aid disbursement

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to block a lower court order requiring the federal government to disburse billions of dollars in foreign aid, seeking an emergency stay as the fiscal year end approaches. In a filing, the Justice Department asked the justices to halt a district court injunction that would force the administration to obligate about $12 billion in Congress approved foreign assistance before Sept. 30 and to continue paying out tens of billions more that the president has sought to rescind.

The filing, signed by Solicitor General John Sauer, says the government will suffer irreparable harm if the injunction remains in place because it would disrupt ongoing negotiations with foreign governments and nongovernmental organizations and undercut the executive branchs ability to align aid spending with foreign policy and national interests. Sauer warned that permitting the lower courts ruling to stand would create a "blueprint" for recipients of federal funds to circumvent the Impoundment Control Act, a 1974 law that governs presidential withholding of appropriations and requires Congress to review proposed rescissions.