The government of President Donald Trump asked the United States Supreme Court on Monday to intervene in his attempt to retain billions of dollars in foreign aid authorized by Congress, as part of the effort of the Republican President for reducing US assistance abroad.
The Department of Justice asked the Court to stop the order of the Amir Ali district judge, based in Washington, which requires that administration officials take measures to spend around 4 billion dollars that have tried to recover.
The money in question in the case was intended by Congress to foreign aid, United Nations Peace Maintenance Operations and the Promotion Efforts of Democracy abroad.
The Department of Justice said in its presentation that the Administration considers that the 4,000 million dollars of foreign aid funds in dispute are “contrary to the foreign policy of the United States.”
The Congress budgeted billions in foreign aid last year, of which around 11,000 million dollars must be spent or compromise before the deadline of September 30, the last day of the current fiscal year of the United States government, so that it does not expire.
After being sued for help groups that expected to compete for the funds, the administration said last month that he intended to spend $ 6.5 billion of the funds on dispute. Trump also sought to block 4 billion in funds through an unusual step called “pocket termination” that overlooks Congress.
Ali ruled on September 3 that the administration cannot simply choose to retain the money and must comply with the assignments laws unless Congress changes them.
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The judicial order of the judge “raises a serious and urgent threat to the separation of powers,” wrote the lawyers of the Department of Justice in Monday’s presentation, and added that it would be “counterproductive and meaningless that the Executive Power forces the same funds that are asking the Congress to terminate.” According to the United States Constitution, the Government’s Executive, Legislative and Judicial Powers are assigned different powers.
Trump’s budget director Russell Vought has argued that the president can retain funds for 45 days after requesting a termination, which would deplete time until the end of the fiscal year. The White House said the tactic was last used in 1977.
Lauren Bateman, lawyer of a group of plaintiffs, said on Monday that the administration is asking the Supreme Court “to defend the illegal tactics of a ‘pocket termination’.” “
“The administration is effectively asking the Supreme Court to bless its attempt to accumulate power illegally,” said Bateman.
The US Court of Appeals for the Circuit of the Columbia district in a 2-1 ruling on Friday refused to stop the order of ALI, which caused the administration’s application to the Supreme Court.
The administration has repeatedly asked the judges this year to intervene to allow the implementation of Trump policies prevented by the lower courts. The Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority of 6-3, has taken the side of the administration in almost all cases that have been asked to review since Trump returned to the presidency in January.
In an earlier iteration of the case of foreign aid financing, the Court in a 5-4 vote in March refused to allow the administration to retain the payment of about 2 billion dollars to aid organizations for the work already carried out for the Government.
With Reuters information.
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