This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Ruling on an attempt to thwart some of President Trump's efforts to freeze funding of foreign projects by the controversial USAID, the Supreme Court Wednesday voted 5-4 to force the administration to restart $2 billion in payments for work already completed.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the three more liberal justices in agreeing with a lower court judge who had ruled against Trump's emergency request to pause foreign-aid funding. The court's order was unsigned and represents one of its first forays into legal attempts to stop many of the president's executive actions.

Justices on the losing end of the decision decried the majority.

"Does a single district-court judge who likely lacks jurisdiction have the unchecked power to compel the Government of the United States to pay out (and probably lose forever) 2 billion taxpayer dollars? The answer to that question should be an emphatic 'No,' but a majority of this Court apparently thinks otherwise. I am stunned," wrote Justice Samuel Alito, who was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

Alito said the high court should have put the enforcement of the previous ruling on hold until the government could petition the justices to consider the case more fully.

The Wall Street Journal explained that the ruling came after U.S. District Judge Amir Ali in Washington, D.C., last month issued a temporary restraining order that blocked the government from canceling all aid contracts while legal proceedings continued, finding the categorical spending freeze was likely unlawful.

The Supreme Court rejected the arguments of acting Solicitor General Sarah M. Harris, who called Ali's deadline an "impossible order" since it gave officials only about 36 hours to comply.

In response to the decision, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., called for the defunding of USAID: