WASHINGTON – The Trump administration wants the Supreme Court to let it cut billions of dollars in foreign aid approved by Congress, setting up a major test of the president’s ability to control federal spending.

In an emergency appeal filed Sept. 8, the Justice Department said the justices should block a lower court ruling that the administration can’t unilaterally cut the funding.

That court said the administration must distribute approximately $11 billion for foreign aid projects before Congressional authorization for the spending expires this month.

An appeals court backed the lower court ruling.

After taking office in January, Trump paused all foreign aid and said any assistance that didn’t align with his priorities would be terminated.

Foreign-aid organizations challenged the administration's ability to refuse to spend funds already approved by Congress.

The administration said it intends to spend $6.5 billion of the disputed funds but is trying to kill $4 billion through a procedural tactic known as a “pocket recission.”

The money was designated for the U.S. Agency for International Development, an agency that the administration has largely dismantled.

U.S. District Judge Amir Ali in Washington, DC, ruled the money must be spent unless Congress affirmatively acts to stop it.

In March, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the administration had to pay aid organizations for work they already performed for the government.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump asks Supreme Court to let him cut foreign aid approved by Congress

Reporting by Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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