JUST IN: Trump Notches Massive Supreme Court Victory

President Donald Trump notched an early victory in the struggle to wrest his agenda from the grasp of activist judges as the U.S. Supreme Court sided with his administration in one of the most closely watched showdowns.

Late Wednesday night, Chief Justice John Roberts granted the Trump administration permission to continue withholding billions of dollars in foreign aid, undoing a lower court ruling that ordered the president to dispense the funds immediately. The technical decision almost certainly will send the matter to the full court for review.

Roberts’ decision will prevent what many legal observers were wondering if they’d see: an administration ignoring a decision by U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ordering the doling out of $2 billion in unpaid invoices to contractors who previously performed work for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The White House was supported by Solicitor General Sarah Harris who filed for emergency relief, arguing it was impossible to comply with the deadline of 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday night set by Judge Ali.

Roberts offered no reasoning for his decision. He instructed USAID contractors and foreign aid groups to file their objections by noon on Friday.

Judge Ali, an appointee of President Joe Biden, ordered the Trump administration to comply on Tuesday after finding that it had essentially ignored his demand that the U.S. State Department lift its blanket freeze on foreign aid. Under Trump, State and USAID implemented new rationales for keeping the funds paused, according to Politico.

Before the issue reached Justice Roberts, the Trump administration filed for relief with a three-judge panel in Washington but was denied.

Opponents of the funding freeze say that President Trump has decimated groups’ collective ability to assist in third-world nations and war-torn places around the globe. Trump and Special Government Employee Elon Musk have argued that the spending was wasteful and antithetical to their America First approach to governing.

In court documents filed Wednesday, the Trump administration revealed that more than 90% of USAID contracts have been eliminated, totaling $60 billion.

Peter Marocco, the president’s operations overseer at USAID, said in a filing that it would be “impossible” to comply with Judge Ali’s original directive.

“Restarting funding related to terminated or suspended agreements is not as simple as turning on a switch or faucet,” Marocco said. “Rather, the payment systems of USAID and State are complicated and require various steps before payments are authorized to be disbursed by the U.S. Treasury, Department of Health and Human Services, and/or the Department of State, involving multiple agencies.”

Harris, the solicitor general, said the federal government has every intention of paying the bills it owes but has a responsibility to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in the process.

“To be very clear, the government is committed to paying legitimate claims for work that was properly completed pursuant to intact obligations and supported by proper documentation,” Harris wrote. “It is attempting to navigate the district court’s evolving orders — and the ensuing, resource-consuming contract-review process — as best it can.”