U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday paused a federal judge's order requiring President Donald Trump's administration to pay foreign aid funds to contractors and grant recipients.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Foreign aid organizations asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to require President Donald Trump's administration to promptly pay them for work they already performed for the government, as a federal judge had ordered.

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.