(Adnkronos) – The Supreme Court has dealt a severe blow to Donald Trump, rejecting his order to freeze two billion in foreign aid, one of the measures taken as part of the crusade to cut federal spending. The ruling, which split the Court by a vote of 5 to 4, in fact confirms the validity of the federal judge’s ruling that ordered the immediate release of USAID funds that had already been allocated. But at the same time it asks the judge to “clarify what obligations the government must meet.”
Crucial were the votes of the two conservative justices, Chief Justice John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett, appointed by Trump during his first term, who voted along with the three liberal justices. While the other four conservative justices, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, the latter two also appointed by Trump, voted to uphold the Republican administration’s appeal.
