The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to allow it to keep billions of dollars in foreign aid funding frozen, a lawyer for the plaintiffs confirmed to Axios.
The big picture: The emergency filing follows a federal judge's recent order that the administration release the billions approved by Congress.
- The plaintiffs, which include health and AIDS advocacy groups, submitted an opposition to the administration's request, the lawyer told Axios.
Driving the news: The government had planned to spend $6.5 billion of the $10.5 billion in question, the Trump administration said.
- Allocating the remaining $4 billion would be "self-defeating and senseless," the filing stated.
What they're saying: "President Trump was given a resounding mandate to put America First, and the administration continues to maintain the President's right to execute his foreign policy agenda," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said.
Zoom in: The Trump administration is looking to freeze the funding via a "pocket rescission," when a president asks Congress to rescind funds close to the end of a fiscal year.
- The appeal to the Supreme Court claimed that the recent preliminary injunction "irreparably harms the executive branch."
Zoom out: The Trump administration has been largely victorious on the Supreme Court's emergency docket.
- In March, though, the Supreme Court ruled that nearly $2 billion in foreign aid contracts had to be paid.
Flashback: The Trump administration in March moved to dissolve the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) under the purview of DOGE's cost-cutting mission.
Go deeper: What is pocket rescission, Trump's bid to cancel $5 billion in foreign aid?
Editor's note: This story was updated with additional context and a White House comment.
