The 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.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily blocked a judge’s order giving the Trump administration a midnight deadline to release billions of dollars in U.S. foreign aid.

Lawyers for the government had said it would miss a deadline to release more than $1.5 billion in payments for past aid work and sought a late intervention from the Supreme Court.