The US Supreme Court rejected Donald Trump’s request to halt foreign aid as the decision was made by a 5-4 vote. The court’s decision is seen as a critical step that could hinder Trump’s efforts to reshape the federal government. While the majority of conservative judges on the court rejected the request to halt approved foreign aid by Congress previously, they mentioned that the Trump administration could continue to debate the issue in lower courts. The decision did not include a statement on when the frozen foreign aid should be released. President Trump suspended billions of dollars in foreign aid from the State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) shortly after taking office on January 20th.

Some civil society organizations relying on these funds for global health and other programs had filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. These same groups claimed that Congress was being deprived of its authority to control government spending and that the administration was violating federal laws that determine how institutions make decisions.