Supreme Court stays order to spend foreign aid funds

The Supreme Court on Friday temporarily blocked a lower court order requiring the Trump administration to spend billions in congressionally approved foreign aid, allowing the administration to continue withholding the funds while litigation proceeds. The unsigned order, issued on the court's emergency docket, extended a stay first granted by Chief Justice John Roberts on Sept. 9 and came over the dissent of the court's three liberal justices.

The dispute centers on a presidential maneuver known as a pocket rescission, in which the White House sent Congress a late notice asking that roughly 4 billion to 4.9 billion dollars be rescinded and therefore not spent before the end of the fiscal year. U.S. District Judge Amir Ali in Washington had ruled that the administration's action was likely unlawful and ordered the government to commit to spending the funds by Sept. 30, a deadline that prompted the Justice Department to seek immediate relief from the Supreme Court. The administration argued the Impoundment Control Act and separation of powers principles preclude the challengers from forcing disbursement at this stage.

The court's brief order said the government had made a...