Federal appeals court rules Trump admin can withhold billions in foreign aid

A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that the Trump administration can continue withholding billions of dollars in foreign aid money, after several aid groups sued the administration to block the order.

The lawsuit challenged President Donald Trump's authority to withdraw $9 billion in foreign aid funding that had previously been appropriated by Congress. The reversal of funds was approved by Congress as part of its rescissions package.

The 2-1 vote ruled that the groups lacked the legal authority to bring the challenge and only the Government Accountability Office could launch the challenge under the 1974 Impoundment Control Act, the New York Times reported.

Judge Karen Henderson, who wrote the majority opinion, ruled that lawsuits challenging the president “cannot be recast as constitutional claims through the mere invocation of the separation of powers.” 

Judge Florence Pan, who was the lone dissenter, countered that courts should still intervene if it looks like the president has overridden Congress.

“The court’s holding that the grantees have no constitutional cause of action is as startling as it is erroneous,” she wrote. “The majority holds that when the president refuses to spend funds appropriated by Congress based on policy disagreements, that is merely a statutory violation and raises no constitutional alarm bells.”

Judge Gregory Katsas, a Trump appointee, sided with Henderson.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.