Conservative justices 'stunned' by Supreme Court's USAID decision, lambaste majority in scathing dissent

Four conservative Supreme Court justices penned a blistering dissent Wednesday after the court majority rejected the Trump administration's request to continue a temporary freeze on foreign aid payments. 

​​Justice Samuel Alito excoriated the high court majority for allowing a lower court judge to single-handedly determine the timeline for the Trump administration to pay nearly $2 million in payments for previously completed foreign aid projects – an order he called "too extreme." 

In a scathing eight-page dissent, Alito called the decision an "unfortunate misstep" and one he said "rewards an act of judicial hubris" by U.S. District Judge Amir Ali.

SCOTUS RULES ON NEARLY $2 BILLION IN FROZEN USAID PAYMENTS

Susan Schorr holds an anti-Elon Musk sign during a protest over cuts at the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development on Feb. 3, 2025 in Washington, D.C.  (Pete Kiehart for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

"Does a single district-court judge who likely lacks jurisdiction have the unchecked power to compel the Government of the United States to pay out (and probably lose forever) 2 billion taxpayer dollars? The answer to that question should be an emphatic ‘No,’ but a majority of this Court apparently thinks otherwise," Alito wrote.

"I am stunned."

He was joined in the dissent by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. 

While Alito and the other dissenting justices acknowledged Wednesday that the plaintiffs raised "serious concerns about nonpayment" for their completed work, they argued that Ali's repayment order and time frame was "too extreme," as it gave the administration just two weeks to comply.

Supreme Court justices attend Trump's presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty)

"The District Court has made plain its frustration with the Government, and respondents raise serious concerns about nonpayment for completed work," they said in their dissent. "But the relief ordered is, quite simply, too extreme a response."

The 5-4 Supreme Court decision remands the case back to the D.C. federal court – and Judge Ali – to hash out the specifics of what must be paid, and when.

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Retired U.S. Agency for International Development worker Julie Hanson Swanson, left, joins other agency supporters outside a USAID office in Washington, D.C., Feb. 21, 2025. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo)

At issue in the case was how quickly the Trump administration needed to pay the nearly $2 billion owed to aid groups and contractors for completed projects funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), at a time when the administration has issued a blanket freeze on all foreign spending in the name of government "efficiency" and eliminating waste.

The funds had been frozen as part of the administration's block on all foreign aid, prompting international groups and contractors to file a lawsuit last month, prompting the Trump administration to file an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice John Roberts intervened, agreeing to pause the timeline to allow the full court to consider the case.

Acting U.S. Solicitor General Sarah Harris argued that while the plaintiffs' claims were likely "legitimate," the time set by Ali was "impossible" and "not logistically or technically feasible."

Ali, for his part, moved quickly Wednesday to take action on the unpaid foreign aid case – setting a new court hearing Thursday afternoon to consider the matter.

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In a minute order, the court said lawyers for both parties should come prepared to discuss a proposed schedule for the Trump administration to comply with the outstanding payments.

Fox News' Jake Gibson contributed to this report.