Overview

• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, in a 2-1 ruling, denied a stay and left a lower-court injunction in force, with Judge Justin Walker dissenting.
• U.S. District Judge Amir Ali’s order requires the administration to obligate roughly $11–12 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid before funds expire this month.
• The White House has pursued a rare pocket rescission to claw back about $4.9 billion and argues the Impoundment Control Act allows a 45-day pause, a reading the GAO has previously rejected.
• The case follows earlier Supreme Court action requiring payment for completed work and now proceeds on an expedited track with further review expected as the fiscal deadline nears.
• Republican senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski criticized the pocket rescission effort, calling it an unlawful attempt to sidestep Congress’s power of the purse.