The United States Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday, 5 March that the US government must pay contractors of USIAD for their completed projects, upholding the decision by the lower courts.
Two groups constructed by USAID, the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and the Global Health Council, sued the Trump administration in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in February, seeking an injunction that would force the government to pay their bills already submitted. Federal Judge Amir Ali, an appointee of Former President Joe Biden, issued a temporary restraining order, ordering all foreign aid payments to continue to be processed while the lawsuit is adjudicated.
However, the Trump administration did not comply, so the specific case of payments for completed work went to the Supreme Court in only two weeks. The highest court ruled 5–4 in favour of the USAID contractors. Chief Justice John Roberts put Judge Ali’s restraining order on a temporary pause in the meantime, which has expired by now.
However, it is important to note that this only refers to the projects already completed, and not to any future projects planned and funding authorized. The total amount ordered to be paid is around $2 billion.
Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh ruled in favour of the Trump administration. Meanwhile, two conservative judges, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, and the three liberal judges on the bench, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson ruled in favour of the USAID contractors.
Justice Alito wrote the dissent. In it, he argues:
‘Does a single district court judge…have unchecked power to compel the government of the United States to pay out (and probably lose forever) 2 billion taxpayer dollars? The answer to that question should be an emphatic “No”, but a majority of this court apparently thinks otherwise. I am stunned’.
However, given how close the decision was on the issue of paying contractors for jobs already completed, it is likely the Trump administration will be able to freeze funding for any future projects planned by the previous administration.
In an effort to cut out wasteful government spending, led by Elon Musk and his new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the new Trump administration has put USAID in its crosshairs. The now infamous government body had a budget of $43 billion in the fiscal year of 2023 and, as of September 2024, had around 13,000 employees.
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