Aug. 26 (UPI) -- The Trump administration on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to halt a lower court's order directing the federal government to disburse billions of dollars in foreign aid.
The Justice Department filed an application with the high court Tuesday evening seeking a stay to a U.S. district judge's ruling. the order directed the Trump administration to disburse about $12 billion in Congress-approved foreign aid funds before they expire with the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, and to continue paying out billions in foreign aid, despite the president's foreign policy goals.
The solicitor general, John Sauer, argues in the filing that unless the court grants the relief the administration seeks, the United States will be subjected to irreparable harm, including backtracking on negotiations with foreign countries about the future of the involved aid programs.
Sauer continues that by permitting the lower court's ruling, a "blueprint" will have been created for any prospective recipient of federal funds to circumvent the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act, which stipulates Congress' review of executive branch withholding of Congress-approved funds.
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