Justice Elena Kagan Warns Supreme Court Conservatives Just Went 'Too Far'

Source: Newsweek

PUBLISHED Sep 26, 2025 at 06:28 PM EDT
UPDATED Sep 26, 2025 at 06:47 PM EDT


The Supreme Court on Friday extended an order allowing President Donald Trump’s administration to keep nearly $5 billion in foreign aid frozen, a decision that drew a sharp rebuke from Justice Elena Kagan, who said the conservative majority had gone “too far.”

With the three liberal justices in dissent, the court’s conservatives granted the administration’s emergency appeal in a case involving billions of dollars that Congress had already approved. Trump announced last month that he would not spend the money, invoking a disputed authority known as a “pocket rescission,” a budgetary maneuver last used by a president roughly 50 years ago.

The unsigned order said Trump’s foreign affairs authority weighed heavily in the decision but emphasized that it was not a final ruling. Still, the court’s action ensures the aid will remain blocked while the case continues through lower courts.

Why It Matters

The decision is the latest in a string of victories for Trump at the high court, many of them through emergency appeals that bypass the usual lengthy process. The court has previously allowed the administration to restrict protections for migrants, remove federal employees, and fire leaders of independent agencies.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/kagan-warns-supreme-court-foreign-aid-trump-admin-10791871