In a 2-1 decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia voted to lift US District Judge Amir Ali's order that the Trump Administration release the full amount of $2 billion of foreign assistance that Congress had appropriated for the 2024 budget year. Judge Florence Pan, also a Biden appointee, cast the lone dissenting vote.

In the majority opinion, Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson noted that the full financial import to taxpayers of lifting Judge Ali's injunction could be as great as $6 billion:

"Here, the grantees allege that the Executive has unlawfully impounded—that is, improperly delayed or withheld—certain sums appropriated in fiscal year 2024 for bilateral economic assistance and international security assistance."

...

"For example, amounts at issue include almost four billion dollars for USAID to spend on global health activities until September 30, 2025, and over six billion dollars for HIV/AIDS programs to be spent until September 30, 2028."

"This is a case about Executive impoundment of funds appropriated by the Congress" regarding Pres. Trump's effort to scale back the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Judge Henderson explained:

"On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order directing the State Department and US Agency for International Development (USAID) to freeze foreign aid spending. Seeking to restore the flow of funds, aid grantees and associations (together, the grantees) sued under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the US Constitution.

"This expedited appeal arises from the district court's grant of a preliminary injunction requiring, in relevant part, the government to make available for obligation the full amount of foreign assistance funds the Congress appropriated for fiscal year 2024."

"The district court erred in granting that relief because the grantees lack a cause of action to press their claims," the majority opinion states, criticizing Judge Amir's ruling.

Judge Amir abused his power by granting the preliminary injunction, Judge Henderson notes:

"Here, we conclude that the district court abused its discretion in granting a preliminary injunction because the grantees failed to show they are likely to succeed on the merits and the other Winter factors do not "strongly favor" the issuance of an injunction."

...

"Because the grantees lack a cause of action to bring any of these claims, the district court committed legal error."

Judge Ali also erred in basing his preliminary injunction on a determination that the litigants' lawsuit claiming Pres. Trump exceeded his executive authority is likely to succeed. By vacating Ali's preliminary injunction, the appeals court allows Pres. Trump to withhold the foreign aid payments while the lawsuit against his order proceeds through the court system.

The apparent extralegal activism of Judge Ali has drawn increasing scrutiny and criticism:

• In February, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) filed articles of impeachment against Judge Ali for "high crimes and misdemeanors."
• "When judges egregiously undermine the democratic will of the people, they must be fired or democracy dies!" former US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk wrote in support of the effort to impeach Ali.
• "Judge Ali Is a Threat to Democracy," National Review Editor-in-Chief wrote in March, describing Ali as "the picture of lawlessness" and "progressive activist" who was "abusing his power with extraordinary rapidity."
• In June, the US Supreme Court ruled that universal injunctions such as Ali's "likely exceed the equitable authority that Congress has given to federal courts."
• Prior to his confirmation to the US District Court for the District of Columbia in 2024, Ali was president and executive director of the MacArthur Justice Center, a left-wing group that publicly called to defund the police.

 US Attorney General Pam Bondi cheered Wednesday's appeals court ruling in a social media post, declaring it "Another @TheJusticeDept victory in court for President Trump's agenda!":

"In a 2-1 ruling, the DC Circuit lifted an injunction ordering President Trump to spend hard-earned taxpayer dollars on wasteful foreign aid projects.

"We will continue to successfully protect core Presidential authorities from judicial overreach." Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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