Frozen funds

Foreign aid freeze: Trump loses in court

(Bild: AP/The Associated Press)

In the dispute over billions in foreign aid, the US Supreme Court has ordered President Donald Trump's government to pay out the funds it has frozen. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court thus rejected an application by the government against the decision of a lower court.

In mid-February, a federal judge had ordered that the suspended cash flows be continued - a decision that the Supreme Court has now confirmed. There were five votes against four in the panel of judges. The decision shows that Trump is by no means guaranteed the backing of the Supreme Court, even though there is a clear conservative majority there. The US president nominated three of the judges himself during his first term in office.

The current decision relates to foreign aid amounting to around 1.5 to two billion US dollars from the US State Department and the development aid agency USAID. Trump had already ordered a temporary halt to these payments by decree on his first day in office on 20 January.

Legal dispute continues
However, as the decision is only temporary, the legal dispute over foreign aid will continue. Trump and his advisor Elon Musk have launched a campaign against humanitarian aid. Hundreds of employees have been dismissed or made redundant. The US president rails against the fact that the government under Biden has spent too much money on migrants and people around the world.