Members of Elon Musk’s so-called “Government Efficiency Office” (DOGE) unit were banned from entering a small, independent federal agency promoting economic development in Africa on Wednesday after a tense standoff with federal staff who fired fire.
Workers from the US African Development Foundation (USADF) that Donald Trump ordered to close refused to allow Doge operatives to enter after arriving at Washington headquarters Wednesday afternoon. But the Doge team returned Thursday, according to government officials familiar with the situation, accompanied by agents of former US Bureau of S and now Peter Marocco, the acting director of the U.S. International Development Agency. This time they were able to access the building, officials said, and there were no staff.
Late Thursday afternoon, agency president Ward Brehm filed a lawsuit accusing Doge, Marocco and White House of “killing” the USADF of “killing” with “ignorance (ING) legal requirements” and “no agency leadership.” According to the complaint, Brehm says the Doge team tried to access the agency using “false pretenses” and “bullying tactics.”
“If Doge achieves its goal of shutting down USADF, we will feel the ripple effect of the African continent and the US,” Brehm said in a statement Thursday.
Many legal challenges have been filed against the sweeping project to support the government’s bureaucracy, create a smart court ruling that declares an illegal suspension of aid and orders reinstatement of fired federal workers.
On Wednesday’s episode, workers instructed security guards at USADF’s headquarters to deny access to the Doge team when they arrive in Marrocco. Trump is about to set him up in a similar role in the USADF.
The staff quoted a letter sent by Brehm, who was not present at the time, under Doge the day before, revealing that his team would not be allowed to access the agency’s office in his absence.
“In my absence, I specifically instructed USADF staff to follow the rules and procedures that would not allow this type of meeting without my presence,” he wrote.
Brehm also refused to cooperate with Marrocco unless he was officially appointed to the institution’s board of directors.
“We look forward to working with Mr. Marrocco after he is nominated for a seat on the board and his nomination has been confirmed by the Senate,” Brehm wrote.
“Until these legal requirements are met, Mr. Marrocco does not have a position or office with the USADF and will not be able to speak or act on behalf of the Foundation.”
The Washington Post was in the building when Marrocco arrived with a Doge team called a young man wearing a backpack, and about 30 workers arrived with the Doge team.
The standoff, led by one of the smallest government agencies with just 50 employees, was cheered by government officials as a powerful act of resistance to Trump and Musk’s war against the government’s bureaucracy.
“This is a small agency that can do it,” the official said.
Trump’s orders have declared the USADF and three other institutions, the Presidio Trust, the American American Foundation (IAF), and the American Institute of Peace, as “unnecessary” and are subject to exclusion.
Wednesday’s standoff followed a similar exchange at the IAF headquarters earlier this week.
The rebellious position of workers comes after Democrats publicly accused the demobilization of government agencies as illegal.
“Efforts to unilaterally dismantle the USADF through administrative measures violate the law and exceed the constitutional limits of administrative authorities,” a Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee wrote in a letter to Trump on February 24th.
Democrats claim that Doge lacks the authority to eliminate independent entities created by Congress and is attempting to set up Marocco as the proxy chair for the USADF and IAF.
Officials familiar with the situation said unlike other federal agencies such as USAID, the USADF is a “Congressional Corporation” whose members are run by a board of directors appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
“The law states that ADF cannot be dissolved except for legislative actions,” the official said. “The (ADF) president will not receive orders from anyone other than the board of directors. The (ADF) president is not even permitted to receive orders from the President of the United States.”
Created by Congress in 1980 to support small businesses and grassroots organizations serving marginalized communities in Africa, the agency has long enjoyed wide bipartisan support. Between 2019 and 2023, they distributed grants worth between $111 million and 1,050 community businesses serving 6.2 million people.
