A lawsuit filed late Thursday on behalf of the unions representing employees from the U.S. Agency for International Development argues that the Trump administration’s actions to shutter the agency are unconstitutional.
The lawsuit — filed against U.S. President Donald Trump, the U.S. State Department, USAID, the U.S. Treasury Department, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent — seeks an injunction to stop the actions the administration is taking, especially ahead of the remaining direct hire staff, save some 290, being placed on administrative leave at 11:59 p.m. Friday.
“We want to halt that, and we want to reverse some of the harms that have already befallen so many American workers who work for USAID and as well as the people that they serve around the world,” Lauren Bateman, an attorney for Public Citizen Litigation Group and one of the lawyers representing the unions, said on a call with reporters on Thursday.
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.
