Overview

• The district court barred the government from impounding congressionally appropriated aid and ordered nearly $2 billion paid to grantees.
• A D.C. Circuit panel ruled 2-1 that only the comptroller general can challenge impoundments, but the mandate has not issued and the district court order remains in effect.
• The administration argues the injunction would override its foreign-policy judgments, force immediate spending now and later, and inflict irreparable diplomatic costs.
• The dispute traces to President Trump’s Jan. 20 directive pausing new obligations and disbursements, followed by a State Department freeze affecting USAID programs.
• The case previously reached the Supreme Court in March, when justices declined to block payments then required, and the litigation has continued in lower courts.