The Supreme Court just handed the Trump administration a win on USAID

Chief Justice John Roberts has delayed an order from a lower court meant to compel the Trump administration to release funds for USAID. 

Chief Justice John Roberts has halted an order that required President Donald Trump to release funding for the US Agency for International Development.

Roberts issued the stay on Wednesday night after Sarah Harris, the acting solicitor general, appealed to the Supreme Court, saying the order’s end-of-Wednesday deadline, which she called “imminent and arbitrary,” made “full compliance impossible.”

Harris added that the order, issued in a lower court by District Judge Amir Ali, required the administration to disburse “nearly $2 billion by 11:59 p.m,” when doing so would require “multiple weeks.”

The halt allows Trump to continue freezing foreign-aid money allocated by USAID, whose spending has been a target of the president in his cost-cutting drive.

The earlier order related to two cases brought by aid organizations including the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and the Global Health Council.

Roberts did not provide a reason for the stay, which gives the Supreme Court time to evaluate and rule on the Trump administration’s request. He gave the plaintiffs until Friday to respond.

USAID was one of the first targets of the White House DOGE office.

In an executive order issued on Inauguration Day, Trump ordered a 90-day freeze on foreign aid. That and other actions have affected thousands of US workers.

Ali’s order was not the first ruling that complicated the Trump team’s attempts to dismantle USAID.

On February 7, Judge Carl Nichols issued a temporary restraining order meant to pause the administration’s USAID staff reductions. But USAID suffered a major court loss Friday when Nichols allowed headcount cuts to go ahead, reversing his previous order.

In 2024, USAID distributed close to $32.5 billion in aid, primarily to causes in Africa and the Middle East.