In an interesting 5-4 split, the Supreme Court has denied the Trump Administration’s application for a stay of a district court’s temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Administration’s effort to freeze $2 billion in funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development. The Administration is down by one vote but hardly out in the fight with lower courts over the control of this funding.
The unsigned order in Department of State v. AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition refuses to stay the temporary restraining order of U.S. District Judge Amir Ali to force the payment of the money frozen by the Administration.
However, there is more than meets the eye in this short, unsigned opinion.
While unsigned, it is clear that Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the three liberal justices. The reason is the dissent of Associate Justice Samuel Alito, who was joined by Justices Thomas, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh.
