Trump ending the foreign assistance and the Sup Ct
back in Supreme Court
- Earlier this week, we emailed you updates about one of Public Citizen’s lawsuits (18 so far) against the Trump regime. Things are moving very fast in this case, and we have even more breaking news to share with you.
Here are the basics:
The Trump administration has refused to spend $4 billion in congressionally mandated foreign assistance funding that expires on September 30 — not even three weeks from now. Its plan not to spend the money is unlawful because the funding is specified in a mandatory appropriations law.
Last week, a federal court granted our motion for a preliminary injunction in the case — in effect telling the regime that it must spend the money before the funding expires. But on Monday, the administration went to the Supreme Court and asked the justices to pause the injunction, thereby allowing it to run out the clock.
On Tuesday afternoon, the regime got what it wanted from the Supreme Court, when Chief Justice John Roberts paused the injunction at least for now, while the court considers the administration’s request to dismiss the injunction altogether. If that happens, the administration will succeed in violating the law, because the funding currently expires so soon.
We have until this afternoon to respond to the administration’s filing. The Supreme Court will then rule — possibly as early as tonight — whether to lift the pause (thus requiring the administration to spend the money by the end of the month) or to maintain the pause (allowing the administration to get away with overriding Congress).
Time is running out.
A few additional notes:
Remember, of the three branches of the federal government, it is the legislative branch (i.e. Congress) that has the constitutional authority to decide how to spend taxpayer dollars. This is commonly known as the “power of the purse.” But the Trump regime — in flagrant violation of the Constitution and 236 years of precedent — is openly trying to usurp that power by refusing to commit funding as required by laws enacted by Congress.
Polls reveal that many Americans think foreign aid accounts for 25% or even 50% of all federal spending and that they would prefer it to be something like 10% instead. In reality, only about 1% of the federal budget — just one penny out of every dollar — goes to foreign aid. With that relatively modest expenditure, American aid helps millions and millions of people all across the world who are facing famine and malnutrition, illness and disease, oppression, disaster, and death.
MORE ABOUT TAKING THE TRUMP REGIME TO COURT
The Trump administration is unilaterally, unconstitutionally, and unlawfully dismantling the federal government — our government — from Cabinet-level departments that have their own stately buildings here in Washington, D.C., to smaller agencies that go largely unnoticed as they do the routine, unheralded work that makes for a functioning country.
Public Citizen is doing everything we can — within our modest means — to fight back at every turn. It’s David and Goliath for sure, but we will never back down. Even where we haven’t (yet) notched definitive victories in court, we are slowing down the regime and making it work a lot harder in pursuit of its desire for absolute power.
This foreign assistance case is just one of the 18 lawsuits we have filed (so far) against the administration since Trump returned to power. Are these lawsuits alone enough to fully defeat Trump and MAGA? Of course not. But are they a meaningful part of the pushback needed to collectively save our country? No doubt about it.
What you and Public Citizen are doing together matters. What hundreds of other organizations, big and small, are doing matters. What millions upon millions of our fellow Americans are doing matters. We believe that to our core. We take solace in that. And we draw inspiration from that. We hope you do, too.
If you can, please donate today to support Public Citizen’s work standing up to the Trump regime.
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For progress,
- Lisa Gilbert & Robert Weissman, Co-Presidents of Public Citizen
Public Citizen | 1600 20th Street NW | Washington DC 20009
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