And SCOTUS has long held that a court may order the government to “spend appropriated funds where the relevant statutes required that the funds be spent.” Drawing on this authority, Ali found Trump’s impoundment “arbitrary and capricious” and mandated its disbursement. (Ali anticipated this gambit, calling out the administration for manufacturing a phony “time crunch” as a cynical “litigation strategy.”) Given the ticking clock, the plaintiffs asked SCOTUS not to freeze Ali’s order—even for a few days through an “administrative stay” while all the justices mulled the request. The move was a bleak indication of where the court was heading; after all, as Ali wrote: “A stay of any length would directly contradict Congress’s statutory command each day that it is in effect.” By halting the injunction, Roberts let Trump keep running down the clock.
Author: Mark Joseph Stern
Published at: 2025-09-10 21:21:45
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