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#SCOTUS on Wednesday backed a federal judge's #power to order the #Trump admin to pay $2B to #USAID contractors but did not require immediate payment.

In doing so, the court on a 5-4 vote rejected an emergency application filed by the #DOJ after #US District Judge Amir Ali issued a series of rulings demanding the government unfreeze funds that Trump put on hold with an #ExecutiveOrder.

The court delayed acting on the case for a week. In the meantime, the contractors have not been paid since the start of #Trump’s term.

In an unsigned order, #SCOTUS said that Judge Ali's deadline for the immediate payment had now passed & the case is already proceeding in the district court, w/more rulings to come. A hearing is scheduled for Thurs.

As such, Ali "should clarify what obligations the government must fulfill" in order to comply w/a TRO issued Feb 13, the court said.

Judge Ali should consider "the feasibility of any compliance deadlines," #SCOTUS added.

4 conservative justices dissented from the denial of the application, w/Justice #Alito writing that Ali did not have "unchecked power to compel the government to pay out ... 2 billion taxpayer dollars."

"I am stunned," Alito added.

The other dissenters were Justices #ClarenceThomas, #NeilGorsuch & #BrettKavanaugh.

In other words, Justices Samuel #Alito, #ClarenceThomas, #NeilGorsuch & #BrettKavanaugh don’t believe in the power of the #judiciary, their own power, or the #SeparationOfPowers.

They believe that the president is in fact above the #law — as long as that president is #Trump.

Here is the order, Alito’s self sabotaging dissent starts on page 2.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a831_3135.pdf