ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Today, a sharply divided Supreme Court limited the Trump administration's sweeping efforts to eliminate foreign aid. The justices voted 5 to 4 to uphold a lower court order. That ruling said the government must pay foreign aid contractors for work they've completed. It's about $2 billion of money that Congress already authorized. This puts the justices at the center of an intense partisan fight. It's a position that was on full visual display during last night's presidential address to Congress. NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg is here in the studio. Hi, Nina.
NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE: Hi there, Ari.
SHAPIRO: To start with that address last night, President Trump talked about the Supreme Court and some of the justices were there in attendance. What stood out to you about that scene?
TOTENBERG: Well, I was struck by the demeanor of the four current justices who were there, both liberal and conservative. Even more than usual, they looked distinctly and unusually uncomfortable as they sat like robed statues in their seats, barely moving during what was a raucous and very partisan event. Chief Justice John Roberts, who's repeatedly stressed the court's role as an independent legal arbiter, has never liked this event, nor have the other justices, who show up as a duty. But the chief especially cannot have been happy when Trump, while leaving the chamber, was caught on camera telling Roberts, thank you again, I won't forget - apparently referring to the chief justice's opinion last summer granting Trump broad immunity from prosecution, even while out of office.
SHAPIRO: Well, what does that likely mean for the relationship between the new Trump administration and the Supreme Court going forward?
TOTENBERG: I think we can mark this week as the beginning of a monumental struggle between the court, or at least five members of the court, and the administration's effort to do big things not authorized by Congress or to, as in this case, stop funds that were authorized by Congress. Now, you can't over or underestimate this, but while Trump repeatedly reminded everyone last night of the extraordinary things he's done in 43 days, remember that in that time period, close to 100 lawsuits have been filed seeking to block those actions for a variety of reasons.
SHAPIRO: So to get back to this lawsuit - the case decided today on foreign aid - what were the specifics?
TOTENBERG: The Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court, asking it to block a lower court order issued by a federal judge, Amir Ali. That order required the government to essentially pay its bills - in this case, to pay foreign aid contractors for work they'd already completed. And while that order was temporary, the judge is hearing arguments later this week on whether he should impose a more permanent order.
Enter the Supreme Court, which today formally refused to block Ali's order, while at the same time telling the judge to, quote, "clarify what obligations the government must fulfill to ensure compliance with the order and with due regard for the feasibility of timelines." In other words, the court majority basically said to Judge Ali - and by inference to other federal district court judges handling these dozens and dozens of cases - that if you dot your i's and cross your t's appropriately, we'll probably back you up.
SHAPIRO: So if this was a first tentative shot across the bow as these dozens of other cases come up, how did the court votes shake out?
TOTENBERG: The majority one-page order was unsigned but joined by the chief justice and Justice Amy Coney Barrett - both conservatives - as well as liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justice Samuel Alito wrote an 8-page dissent for the four conservative dissenters. I am stunned, he said, that the court is rewarding an act of judicial hubris and imposes a $2 billion penalty on American taxpayers. And joining him in dissent were justices Clarence Thomas and Trump appointees Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch.
SHAPIRO: This is an unusual 5-4 lineup with some of the more conservative justices joining the court's three liberals. Is this a 5-4 division that you expect we will see more of as these cases percolate?
TOTENBERG: It appears that we probably will. I think some people might have expected Justice Kavanaugh to join the chief justice, but he is a firm believer in executive power, having served as President Bush's staff secretary, essentially. And he obviously has a very strong view of executive power.
SHAPIRO: NPR's legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg, thank you.
TOTENBERG: Thank you, Ari. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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