Appeals court says Trump can cut $2 billion in foreign aid

A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that President Donald Trump can withhold nearly $2 billion in previously approved foreign aid payments, delivering a significant legal win to his administration’s effort to scale back the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia voted 2-1 to overturn a lower court’s order requiring the administration to pay out the funds, which were frozen earlier this year. Judge Karen L. Henderson, appointed by former President George H.W. Bush, wrote for the majority that the plaintiffs, a coalition of contractors and nonprofit organizations, lacked legal standing to challenge the freeze.