In a major legal blow to the Trump administration, the Supreme Court issued a significant ruling against the Trump administration just hours after President Trump addressed a joint session of Congress. The timing of this ruling highlights the complex and often unpredictable interactions between branches of government. How might the division among conservative justices affect future Trump administration cases?
Supreme Court Deals Blow to Trump Administration
The Supreme Court has denied the Trump administration’s application to vacate a District Court ruling in the USAID funding case, forcing the government to pay approximately $2 billion to contractors. This unexpected decision came just hours after President Trump’s joint address to Congress, where several Supreme Court justices were in attendance.
Five justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, ruled against the administration in what the Court emphasized was a procedural decision. The ruling upholds a lower court’s order requiring USAID and the State Department to pay contractors for work already completed, despite the administration’s last-minute attempt to pause these disbursements.
BREAKING: US Supreme Court has denied Trump‘s emergency bid to cancel nearly $2 billion in USAID spending. pic.twitter.com/ogm8HFS0em
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 5, 2025
Conservative Justices Split in Decision
Justice Samuel Alito wrote a forceful dissent joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh, expressing profound disagreement with the majority’s decision. “Does a single district-court judge who likely lacks jurisdiction have the unchecked power to compel the Government of the United States to pay out (and probably lose forever) 2 billion taxpayer dollars? The answer to that question should be an emphatic ‘No,’ but a majority of this court apparently thinks otherwise. I am stunned,” Alito wrote.
The case originated when the District Court issued a temporary restraining order preventing the government from pausing disbursements of foreign development assistance funds. Chief Justice Roberts had initially granted an administrative stay of the lower court’s order, but this was later vacated when the full court considered the application.
So the Supreme Court Justices heard all the USAID fraud listed and still ruled the next day to force the President of the United States to disburse another $2 BILLION.
The courts are becoming a huge hindrance to the Golden Age Agenda…
pic.twitter.com/d9XMFM45k4— George (@BehizyTweets) March 5, 2025
Ongoing Legal Battle with Significant Financial Implications
The Supreme Court’s decision lifts the temporary pause and returns the case to the District Court for further clarification on compliance obligations. The government had attempted to postpone these payments by applying to vacate the order just hours before the February 26 deadline set by the lower court.
This ruling occurs against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s efforts to reassess foreign aid spending and reallocate budget priorities. While this decision is procedural rather than substantive, it potentially sets the stage for future confrontations between the judiciary and executive branches over budgetary authority and foreign policy implementation.