A federal judge March 18 ruled that Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) violated the Constitution by shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland said that Musk and DOGE had no authority to dismantle the agency – as Musk was neither appointed nor confirmed by the Senate – and that they deprived Congress of its “constitutional authority to decide whether, when and how to close down an agency created by Congress.”
The judge’s preliminary injunction prohibited DOGE from making further cuts to the agency’s staff and contracts and from shutting down buildings, IT systems, and websites. He also ordered DOGE to reinstate access to email, payments, security measures, and other electronic systems for current USAID employees and contractors.
Musk and DOGE cannot engage “in any actions related to USAID without express authorization of a USAID official with the legal authority to take or approve the action,” the judge said. The lawsuit was filed by USAID employees and contractors.
Chuang’s ruling is the most recent blow to the Trump administration on USAID. On March 11, a judge ruled Trump overstepped his constitutional authority when he halted almost all spending on foreign aid administered by USAID as part of his plan to abolish the agency. The judge ordered him to pay $2 billion it owed but did not go as far as directing him to revive the cancelled contracts.
On the same day, AFGE and allies filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for ordering USAID employees to shred and burn documents. On March 10, AFGE and allies filed a motion for summary judgement to immediately block the Trump administration from shutting down USAID. The group argued that facts are not contested and so a trial is not needed. A recent decision by a judge to allow the Trump administration to put USAID employees on leave was not on the merit of the case but rather jurisdiction – that litigation involving labor issues or federal employment actions should first go before the Federal Labor Relations Authority or the Merit Systems Protection Board.
USAID was one of the first and biggest targets of the Trump administration, which has proceeded to cut 83% of its contracts and moved the agency under the State Department.
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