While a district judge had ordered the President to unfreeze foreign aid payments by the end of Wednesday, Chief Justice John Roberts of the Supreme Court delayed the deadline, handing the Trump administration a win.

From The Hill. Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily delayed a midnight deadline for the Trump administration to unfreeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid payments, imposed by a lower judge who found the administration had flouted his ruling.

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The administration said it could not feasibly resume payments on the rapid timeline set by U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, who on Tuesday directed the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to resume funding for foreign aid contracts and grants by the end of Wednesday. …

By default, the request went to Roberts, who handles emergency appeals arising from the nation’s capital. His pause lasts until the court decides whether to wipe Ali’s ruling, which Roberts could decide himself or refer to full court for a vote.

Roberts ordered the plaintiffs to respond in court filings by mid-day Friday.

But for now, Roberts’s decision means the administration does not have to release the funding by midnight, handing Trump a temporary win in his broader effort to dismantle USAID.  …

Since taking office, Trump has looked to effectively dismantle USAID, including through his executive order demanding a pause in all federal aid payments. Most USAID staff have been placed on administrative leave and blocked from accessing their offices or internal systems, and many others have been fired. …

What do you think of the President’s foreign aid freeze? Share your thoughts and prayers below.

(Excerpt from The Hill. Photo Credit: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from Washington D.C, United States – 210120-D-WD757-2048, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=99135435)