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The Supreme Court on Friday permitted the government to freeze more than $4 billion in foreign aid payments that President Trump moved to cancel last month through a rare \u201cpocket rescission.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a 6-3 decision, the justices granted the Trump administration\u2019s emergency appeal, halting a Sept. 3 lower court ruling that had ordered the previously appropriated funds to be released.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a massive victory in restoring the President\u2019s authority to implement his policies,\u201d a spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget\u00a0<\/p>\n
The majority of the justices found the \u201charms to the Executive\u2019s conduct of foreign affairs appear to outweigh the potential harm faced by respondents.\u201d They include the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, Journalism Development Network, Center for Victims of Torture and the Global Health Council, The Post noted.The Supreme Court\u2019s ruling stopped short of weighing in on the larger issue of whether President Trump has the authority to unilaterally \u201cimpound\u201d funds approved by Congress.<\/p>\n
Last month, Trump formally notified House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) of his move to cancel more than $4 billion in foreign aid, including $3.2 billion in U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs, $322 million from the joint USAID\u2013State Department Democracy Fund, and $521 million in State Department contributions to international organizations.<\/p>\n
The request, known as a \u201cpocket rescission,\u201d was submitted to Congress so close to the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30 that it would automatically take effect regardless of congressional action.<\/p>\n
It marks the first time in nearly five decades that a president has used the maneuver.<\/p>\n
The funding in question had been designated for nonprofit organizations currently suing the Trump administration, as well as for foreign governments.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta Ali, a Biden appointee, ruled that the administration could not withhold the money without congressional approval of the rescission proposal.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo date, Congress has not responded to the President\u2019s rescission proposal by rescinding the funds,\u201d Ali wrote. \u201cAnd the [Impoundment Control Act] is explicit that it is congressional action \u2014 not the President\u2019s transmission of a special message \u2014 that triggers rescission of the earlier appropriations.\u201d<\/p>\n
The nonprofit organizations challenging the Trump administration\u2019s funding freeze contended that the pocket rescission violated federal law and jeopardized critical, lifesaving programs overseas.<\/p>\n
In Friday\u2019s decision, Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the majority ruling.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the week, the Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a case that will determine whether President Donald Trump can remove members of the Federal Trade Commission without cause, a dispute that could redefine the limits of presidential authority and the independence of federal agencies.<\/p>\n
In a brief order, the justices said Trump\u00a0may remove\u00a0FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter while the case is pending. Arguments are scheduled for December, and the stay allowing her removal will remain in effect until the court issues a ruling.<\/p>\n
The case asks whether statutory protections against removing FTC commissioners violate the separation of powers and whether the court\u2019s 1935 decision upholding such protections should be overturned. It will also examine whether lower federal courts can block removals, as they have in cases involving Trump\u2019s dismissal of Democratic appointees.<\/p>\n
The high court\u2019s left wing \u2013 Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson \u2013 dissented, with Kagan writing that the order effectively gives the president \u201cfull control\u201d over independent agencies that Congress intended to shield from political influence.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe may now remove \u2014 so says the majority, though Congress said differently \u2014 any member he wishes, for any reason or no reason at all. And he may thereby extinguish the agencies\u2019 bipartisanship and independence,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
Senator John Kennedy is once again cutting through Washington\u2019s theatrics with brutal honesty.<\/p>\n
The Louisiana Republican accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of staging political drama instead of doing his job to reopen the government.<\/p>\n
In an interview with Fox Business host Larry Kudlow, Kennedy described the shutdown as a \u201cpolitical performance,\u201d not a genuine policy disagreement.<\/p>\n
He said Schumer is more concerned with keeping up appearances for his party\u2019s radical wing than with serving the American people.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will end eventually,\u201d Kennedy said, \u201cwhen Senator Schumer goes to six or eight of his members and Democrats and says, \u2018Do me a favor. Vote to open it back up. I may have to criticize you. I\u2019m not going to vote with you, but I need a way out of this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Kennedy made clear that Schumer\u2019s priority isn\u2019t compromise \u2014 it\u2019s saving face.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s gonna tell \u2018em, \u2018Now, look, I gotta vote no. And I gotta dogcuss you a little bit. We gotta have some play acting and make this look good. And then we come out of the shutdown,\u2019\u201d Kennedy said, describing how Schumer will secretly orchestrate the outcome he publicly opposes.<\/p>\n
According to Kennedy, the government shutdown is less about real disagreements and more about political optics. Schumer, he said, is acting out a script to appease the far-left members of his caucus \u2014 what Kennedy calls the \u201cmoon wing\u201d of the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know him. Well, this shutdown is not about policy. It\u2019s about politics,\u201d Kennedy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Senator Schumer, this is what\u2019s going on. He is trying to get the moon wing, the socialist wing of the Democratic Party, which is in control, to love him. And they will never love him.\u201d<\/p>\n
That blunt assessment paints a damning picture of the Democratic leadership. Schumer, Kennedy argues, is beholden to extremists who refuse to compromise, even at the expense of the country.<\/p>\n
The Louisiana senator said Schumer\u2019s strategy is simple: keep the government closed until Republicans and President Trump agree to hand over billions in new spending \u2014 spending that Democrats will control. \u201cWhat he\u2019s saying,\u201d Kennedy explained, \u201cis we\u2019re going to keep government shut down until you Republicans and President Trump give the Democrats $1.5 trillion, and they\u2019re going to tell us how to spend it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kennedy ridiculed the idea that Schumer is fighting for \u201cthe people.\u201d In his view, Schumer is fighting for power, money, and media attention \u2014 and the shutdown is just another stage for him to perform on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Supreme Court on Friday permitted the government to freeze more than $4 billion in foreign aid payments that President Trump moved to cancel last month through a rare \u201cpocket rescission.\u201d In…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t