Getty ImagesThe top judge in the United States has given temporary backing to the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid payments.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ intervention came as the administration faced a midnight deadline (05:00 GMT on Thursday) to pay contractors.
Officials had argued that they could not process the payments within the timeframe set by a lower court judge.
Since coming to power in January, US President Donald Trump has taken quick action to end many aid programmes, largely run by the US Agency for International Development, USAID, and placed most of its staff on administrative leave or sacked them.
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US District Judge Amir Ali had ordered the US State Department and USAID to pay about $2bn-worth of bills (£1.6bn) to contractors by midnight on Wednesday.
It is one of many interventions by judges trying to stop or pause a wave of Trump administration orders.
As the deadline approached, the Trump administration went to the Supreme Court, arguing it was impossible to process claims in an orderly fashion in such a short period of time.
The US federal government freeze comes as the administration carries out a review of foreign aid funding.
Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris said Judge Ali’s order “has thrown what should be an orderly review by the government into chaos”.
The cutbacks to USAID have already upended the global aid system.
Hundreds of programmes have been frozen in countries around the world since the president announced his intentions in January.
The US is by far the biggest single provider of humanitarian aid around the world.
It has bases in more than 60 countries and works in dozens of others, with much of its work carried out by its contractors.
According to the Associated Press news agency, the Trump administration wants to eliminate more than 90% of the USAID’s foreign aid contracts – and $60bn of US overseas aid.