The majority accepts the premise that the Executive Branch should be able to reverse funding it requested.
On Friday, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled in favor of President Trump’s administration, allowing the cancellation of $4 billion in federal funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Lower courts had previously ruled that the attempts of the president’s administration to halt the funding, which was passed by Congress, violated the separation of powers.
The president’s administration appealed these rulings to the Supreme Court, making the argument that, since $4 billion worth of USAID funding was previously requested by the executive branch, it should be able to be canceled by the executive branch, even if it was approved by Congress. The Supreme Court majority agreed.
The three liberal justices issued a dissent to this ruling, with Justice Elena Kagan claiming the court’s majority altered the balance of power between Congress and the president over the power of the purse.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Chief Justice Roberts to be discerning as he presides over the high court bench.
- For the justices to receive God’s wisdom as they prepare to hear oral arguments in the first cases of the fall term.
Sources: Roll Call, SCOTUSBlog
