The largest government unions in the United States and the Association of Foreign Service Workers sued the Trump administration on Thursday to reverse the aggressive dismantling of the US International Development Agency.
The lawsuit, filed in Washington, DC federal court by the Washington State Federation of Government Employees and the U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs, calls for an order that it is “unconstitutional and unlawful” that created a “global humanitarian crisis.”
President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent are among the nominated defendants, but the text of the lawsuit revolves around actions and social media from Elon Musk and his “government efficiency” initiative It focuses broadly on statements.
“The humanitarian consequences of the defendant’s actions are already devastating,” the plaintiff said. “USAID provides life-saving food, medicine and support to hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Without the agency partners to carry out this mission, we have a US-led clinic, soup kitchen and refugees. Support programs, and countless other programs, were immediately suspended.”
Among the actions that are called illegal is Trump’s order on January 20th. An order from the State Department then stopped USAID projects around the world, causing the agency’s computer systems to go offline, and staff suddenly took layoffs or leave.
The White House and the department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The agency’s guri is the wealthiest man in the world, and is primarily overseen by close Trump allies who lead the president’s efforts to reduce the federal bureaucracy and replace career civil servants with politically loyal appointees It’s been done. On Monday, Musk wrote on X, his social media platform, that he and his employees “feed USAID to Wood Chipper over the weekend.” The statement was filed in the court as an example of the reckless destruction of an institution prepared by the law of Parliament.
As reported by the Guardian, Musk promoted a campaign of misinformation about institutional spending to undermine its image. Take a look at Ukraine. Records from the USAID website used to expose Musk’s false claims that the US planned to spend $50 million on Gaza condoms have been deleted along with almost the entire history of the agency .
“One of the defendant’s actions in dismantling USAID was not taken in accordance with Congress’ permission,” the lawsuit said. “And according to federal law, Congress is the only entity that could legally dismantle an agency.”
The agency’s website now states as of midnight on Friday, “All USAID direct employment officers will be excluded from designated personnel responsible for mission-critical features, core leadership and specially designated programs. “We will take administrative leave worldwide and globally.”
The Trump administration plans to retain fewer than 300 of the more than 10,000 employees, sources told Reuters on Thursday.
“The collapse of the agency has had disastrous humanitarian consequences,” the lawsuit on Thursday includes shutting down efforts to combat malaria and HIV. “As already 300 babies who didn’t have HIV, they do so now. Thousands of girls and women die of pregnancy and childbirth.”
Former USAID administrator Samantha Power in a New York Times opinion article on Thursday claimed that damage to American fame was a boon to foreign enemies.
“I’m not surprised that the attack is being supported by Moscow and Beijing,” Power wrote. “They understand that those trying to dismantle the institutions are desperate to hide from Americans. USAID is a world defined in the growth of strategic competition across borders and strategically competitiveness. It has become a superpower.”
Trump’s freezing of foreign aid and USAID closure have crippled global efforts to alleviate hunger, leaving Limbo with a massive amount of food worth $340 million.
“We’re already looking at the costs of shutdowns,” wrote Aturgawawande, the surgeon who led USAID’s global health program, wrote to X: People around the world will deny the drug and immediately begin sending the virus. Damage is global. ”
Gwande added that one veteran foreign affairs officer told him. “Our government is attacking us. This is worse than the dictatorship I have worked for.”
The lawsuit alleges that disbanding USAID, which was established as an independent institution under the law of 1998, exceeds Trump’s authority under the constitution and violates the obligation to faithfully enforce the country’s laws. I’m doing it.
It is seeking a temporary and ultimately permanent order from the court, blocking further orders to restore USAID funds, reopen the office and disband it.
