ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to intervene in a dispute over billions of dollars in foreign aid, warning that a lower court order would compel the spending, according to media reports.

The Department of Justice filed an emergency appeal requesting a decision by Sept. 2, citing the risk of “irreparable diplomatic costs,” CNN reported.

Although an appeals court ruled in Trump’s favor earlier this month, a lower court order mandating the spending of the funds is still in effect.

In its filing, the administration argued that unless the Supreme Court acts, the lower court ruling “will effectively force the government to rapidly obligate some $12 billion in foreign-aid funds,” undermining its foreign-policy discretion.

Earlier this month, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that only Congress can challenge an administration over changes to approved spending, not the nonprofit groups that had sued over the proposed deep cuts.

This decision overturned a lower court ruling that had blocked the administration from moving ahead with the cuts.

The case has since been appealed to the full D.C. Circuit, which is still reviewing it. Lower courts have refused to stay the district court’s overturned ruling against Trump, leaving the mandate to spend the funds in effect.