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From Fox News: A federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to pay the remainder of foreign aid owed to contractors for completed work, noting in a new court ruling that the administration likely violated the separation of powers doctrine by “unlawfully impounding” nearly $2 billion in funds appropriated by Congress.
U.S. District Court Judge Amir Ali, a Biden appointee, said in the ruling that the Trump administration likely exceeded its constitutional authority in attempting to block the payments owed by the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to grant recipients and foreign aid contractors.
“Here, the executive has unilaterally deemed that funds Congress appropriated for foreign aid will not be spent,” Ali said.
“The executive not only claims his constitutional authority to determine how to spend appropriated funds, but usurps Congress’ exclusive authority to dictate whether the funds should be spent in the first place.”
Judge Amir Ali, 40, was born in Canada in 1985. He holds dual citizenship with the U.S. and Canada, and only became a U.S. citizen in 2019. He was nominated by Joe Biden in February 2024, to fill a seat vacated by Judge Beryl Howell, who assumed senior status.
Ali was one of the group of radical judges that Democrats rushed to confirm in November, ahead of President Trump’s inauguration. Ali was confirmed on November 20, and assumed office on November 22, 2024, becoming the first Muslim and Arab American federal judge to serve in D.C. Former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema had voted against him.
Fox News further explains:
Ali had previously ordered the Trump administration to pay all owed foreign aid funds for previously completed work, totaling $1.9 billion, by Feb. 26 at 11:59 p.m.
The Supreme Court took up the case for emergency review last week, but ruled 5-4 to reject the administration’s request to extend the freeze. Instead, the court remanded the case back to the D.C. federal court and Ali to hash out the specifics of what must be paid and when.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) voiced his fury, saying in a post on X, “Amir Hatem Mahdy Ali is a woke DC judge who has been working to stop President Trump from day one. Rogue judges should not have the power to unilaterally block Executive Actions—especially one who’s only been a U.S. citizen for five years. How can we trust him to uphold our Constitution? Impeach him!”
Many social media users are also voicing their outrage over this judge.
BREAKING: Supreme Court makes ruling on nearly $2 billion in frozen USAID payments
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