8/13/2025

Can you believe anyone would waste their money in this fashion when we are 32 trillion in debt and hosed down every day with a 1 trillion interest rate? And, we have to borrow the money to give to charity – does that make sense?

We have people in our country who could use this charity.

Charity is supposed to start at home and then you give charity/money you have left over to help others.

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Donald Trump scores major win at appeals court

Story by Hannah Parry

Story by Hannah Parry

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President Donald Trump scores major win at appeals court

Story by Hannah Parry 

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President Donald Trump was handed another court victory on Wednesday morning, after a federal appeals court ruled that his administration can stop making foreign aid payments.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued the 2-1 decision lifting a lower court injunction that had required the Trump administration to restore foreign assistance payments previously approved by Congress.

Why it Matters

Trump has been a vocal critic of foreign aid, which he has called “wasteful” and not in line with his America First policies. On his first day back in office, on January 20, he immediately imposed a 90-day pause on all foreign aid, and he has since made sweeping cuts and attempts to dismantle most of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Today’s decision will not only allow Trump to continue to wind down foreign aid grants, but it will also make it easier for the government to refuse to spend money already in the budget.

Trump Foreign Aid Appeal: What We Know

Two non-profit groups that received federal funding, AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and Journalism Development Network, had sued the Trump administration for $10 billion in funds that Congress had allocated to the State Department and USAID for global health and HIV/AIDS programs. The grant recipients argued that Trump’s funding freeze violated federal law.

A lower U.S. district court had sided with the grant recipients and ordered the administration to pay nearly $2 billion in outstanding aid to humanitarian partners.

But on Wednesday, the federal appeals court vacated that injunction.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks during an event at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Aug. 13, 2025. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images) Francis Chung/AP© Francis Chung/AP

Judge Karen Henderson, a Reagan appointee, wrote in her opinion that only the Comptroller General, which falls under the legislative branch’s Government Accountability Office, has the ability to sue over alleged impoundment.

The Impoundment Control Act “created a complex scheme of notification of the Congress, congressional action on a proposed rescission or deferral and suit by a specified legislative branch official if the executive branch violates its statutory expenditure obligations,” Henderon wrote.t does not make sense that the Congress would craft a complex scheme of interbranch dialogue but sub silentio also provide a backdoor for citizen suits at any time and without notice to the Congress of the alleged violation.”

The Court of Appeals ruling means that only the legislative branch will be able to sue a presidential administration if it makes changes to congressionally approved budgets.

The court also emphasized that obligations to satisfy existing contracts were largely distinct from the question of future disbursements and that challenges rooted in existing, executed contracts remained available through other legal avenues.

The panel majority said the record about grantees’ future survival without these funds was “simply less developed.”

What is the Impoundment Control Act?

The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (ICA) limits a president’s ability to withhold or cancel spending that Congress has already approved, preserving Congress’s constitutional “power of the purse.” Passed after President Nixon refused to release funds for programs he opposed, the law requires the president to notify Congress of any delays and get congressional approval within 45 days for permanent cancellations or else the money must be spen

Enforced by the Government Accountability Office, the ICA has been central to disputes such as the 2019 Ukraine aid delay, which the GAO ruled violated the law.

What People Are Saying

Attorney General Pamela Bondi wrote on X, “Another Justice Dept 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.”

Judge Florence Pan, a Biden appointee, wrote in her dissent, “It is our responsibility to check the President when he violates the law and exceeds his constitutional authority. We fail to do that here.”

Lauren Bateman of Public Citizen Litigation Group, lead attorney for some of the grantees, told reporters after the decision she would”seek further review from the court. In the meantime, countless people will suffer disease, starvation, and death from the administration’s unconscionable decision to withhold life-saving aid from the world’s most vulnerable people.” Where are the United Nations?

What Happens Next

It is not yet clear whether the plaintiffs will try to appeal their case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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