A federal court judge in Maryland ruled Tuesday that Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency’s moves to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development were probably unlawful.
Those actions “likely violated the United States Constitution in multiple ways” and harmed the plaintiffs’ and the public interest because they “deprived the public’s elected representatives in Congress of their constitutional authority to decide whether, when, and how to close down an agency created by Congress,” Judge Theodore Chuang wrote in his opinion. The case was brought by a group of anonymous current or recently terminated employees and contractors at USAID against Musk and DOGE.
The judge partially granted the plaintiffs’ request, offering “narrow emergency relief” by ruling that Musk and DOGE do not have the power to shutter USAID. But he stopped short of reinstating terminated programs or compelling payments because those actions could be permissible if carried out by officials with the appropriate authority.
About the author
Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal
Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.
