The US Supreme Court on Friday said that US President Donald Trump's administration may continue with its freeze of over $4 billion (€3.4 billion) in foreign aid. 

What did the Supreme Court say in its order?

The aid was approved by the US Congress. The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, said that the "asserted harms" to Trump's conduct of foreign affairs "appear to outweigh the potential harm" faced by potential recipients of the foreign aid. 

The court said the emergency order is not a "final determination" on the freeze, as it plays out in the lower courts. 

"The relief granted by the Court today reflects our preliminary view, consistent with the standards for interim relief," the Supreme Court order said.  

The US Department of Justice, led by Attorney General and Trump ally Pam Bondi, turned to the Supreme Court after US District Judge Amir Ali ruled the Trump administration must release the aid. 

Liberal Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, Jackson dissent 

The three liberal justices on the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented.

Kagan, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, shot back at the Trump administration, which she ascertains does not want to spend the money because it is "contrary to US foreign policy." 

"But that is just the price of living under a Constitution that gives Congress the power to make spending decisions through the enactment of appropriations law," Kagan said.

The US Constitution grants Congress purview over federal taxation and spending, which is commonly known as the "power of the purse."

Kagan said the result of the emergency order conflicts with the "separation of powers."

The US has legislative, executive and judicial branches, with each branch wielding separate but equal power. The US Constitution is designed to ensure that no branch becomes too powerful that it overwhelms the others.  

Why is the Trump administration stopping foreign aid? 

Since returning to office for a second term in January, Trump's Republican administration has drastically downsized US foreign aid operations. The White House has often criticized aid programs which it sees as a waste of money or contrary to the aims of US foreign policy.   

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who took office a day after Trump's inauguration, has spearheaded an effort to effectively shut down US agency USAID.

USAID was established in 1961 by then-Democratic President John F. Kennedy at the height of the Cold War. Rubio has merged USAID's programs with the State Department, dismantling the world's largest international aid agency.   

Researchers and humanitarian groups have warned that the aid cuts will have dire consequences for people in developing countries and global public health. 

A study released in July by the Fielding School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles said that the cuts could result in more than 14 million additional global deaths by 2030. 

The New York City-based International Rescue Committee (IRC) noted that the slashing of US foreign aid includes the decision to end programs that treat and prevent communicable diseases. 

"Without prevention and treatment efforts, diseases are more likely to spread unchecked, mutate and become harder to control," the IRC said on its website in March. "This creates a higher risk for future global health crises that could threaten lives worldwide.

Edited by: Kieran Burke