A United States federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration cannot single-handedly slash billions of dollars of foreign aid appropriated by the US Congress.

In Wednesday’s decision, District Judge Amir Ali in Washington ruled that the White House cannot withhold about $4bn in funds approved by Congress for foreign assistance through international assistance agencies such as USAID .

“Whatever the reason, Defendants have given no justification to displace the bedrock expectation that Congress’s appropriations must be followed,” Ali wrote.

The ruling is the latest development in a series of legal battles centred on the Trump administration’s efforts to wield expansive authority in areas such as foreign assistance, which the White House has moved to dramatically slash. Some of t

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