Supreme Court allows Trump to withhold $4 billion in foreign aid
The Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for the Trump administration to continue to withhold over $4 billion in foreign aid already approved by Congress.
Earlier this month, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. ordered the administration to release billions in foreign aid funds by the end of September — which the administration later appealed.
On Friday, the justices voted 6-3 along ideological lines to allow the administration to freeze the foreign aid funds. The court’s conservatives said Trump’s foreign policy authority outweighed the harms claimed by the international aid groups suing and suggested that the groups may not have the standing to sue.
In the dissent, Justice Elena Kagan took issue with the way the ruling was reached, which was through the emergency docket.
“We have had to consider this application on a short fuse — less than three weeks. We have done so with scant briefing, no oral argument, and no opportunity to deliberate in conference,” Kagan wrote.
Last month, President Trump informed House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., that he will not be spending $4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid through a controversial and rare authority known as a pocket rescission.
Typically, lawmakers have 45 days to consider a request to rescind or cancel appropriated funds. But when a request comes close to the end of a budget year, the president may bypass the legislative branch. A pocket rescission has not been used since the 1970s.
The pocket rescission includes targeting funds for development assistance grants, the United Nations, and international peacekeeping operations
Justice Department opens investigation into Minnesota governor and Minneapolis mayor
Federal prosecutors are investigating Gov. Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey.
No sign of new protests in Iran as a hard-line cleric calls for executions
A Iran returns to an uneasy calm after protests led to a violent crackdown, a senior cleric is calling for the death penalty for detained demonstrators. His sermon Friday also threatened U.S. President Trump.
Gulf South food banks look back on a challenging year as another shutdown looms
Federal funding cuts and a 43-day government shutdown made 2025 a chaotic year for Gulf South food banks. For many, the challenges provide a road map for 2026.
Measles is spreading fast in S.C. Here’s what it says about vaccine exemptions
More than 550 people have contracted measles in Spartanburg County, S.C., in a fast-growing outbreak. Like a majority of U.S. counties, nonmedical exemptions to school vaccination are also rising.
It took 75 governors to elect a woman. Spanberger will soon be at Virginia’s helm
Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer and three-term congresswoman, is breaking long-held traditions on inauguration day. She says she wants her swearing-in to showcase the state's modern vibrancy.
For those with addiction, going into and coming out of prison can be a minefield.
Many jails and prisons around the country don't provide medication treatment for opioid use disorder. Studies show that medication makes recovery more likely and reduces the risk of overdose death.
