Aid freeze fight goes to high court

The Trump administration on Monday asked the Supreme Court for an emergency order to keep billions of dollars in foreign aid frozen.

- By Mark SHERMAN

EVAN VUCCI Associated Press PRESIDENT TRUMP is seeking a Supreme Court emergency order to keep $4.9 billion in foreign aid frozen.

The crux of the legal fight is over nearly $5 billion in congressionally approved aid that President Trump last month said he would not spend, invoking disputed authority that was last used by a president roughly 50 years ago.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ruled that the Republican administration's decision to withhold the funding was probably illegal.

Trump told House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in a letter Aug. 28 that he would not spend $4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid, effectively cutting the budget without going through the legislative branch.

He used what's known as a pocket rescission. That’s when a president submits a request to Congress toward the end of a current budget year to not spend the approved money. The late notice means Congress cannot act on the request in the required 45-day window and the money goes unspent.