27 Feb 2025

SCOTUS Chief Justice Overrides District and Appeals Courts and Stops Payment of USAID Contracts

by Bonnie | | 0

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, acting on his own, blocked federal District Court Judge Amir Ali’s order (which an Appeals Court allowed to continue) that the State Department and USAID must pay about $2 billion to contractors by midnight the night of 26 February 2025 for work completed by 13 February 2025.

The order Roberts blocked was Ali’s response to Donald Trump’s regime having twice ignored his temporary restraining orders directing payment to contractors for work already done. A three-judge Appeals Court panel dismissed an emergency appeal by the government, so the government turned to SCOTUS.

Roberts issued an “administrative stay” to block Ali’s order, which is an interim measure intended to preserve the status quo while the justices deliberate on a matter. The status quo being preserved is the executive branch ignoring court orders from the judicial branch to pay for services delivered under contracts that were valid at the time of delivery.

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