International Relief and Development, the nonprofit organization suspended earlier this year by the U.S. Agency for International Development for “serious misconduct,” will pursue legal action against USAID to have the suspension lifted, according to IRD President Roger Ervin.
The IRD chief — and former secretary of revenue for Wisconsin — told Devex he and his legal team at Foley & Lardner LLP, his own former firm, are suing the agency for violating the “Administrative Procedure Act” and for what they consider an “arbitrary, capricious abuse of discretion.”
An official IRD spokesperson who wished to remain anonymous told Devex the courts in Washington, D.C., will decide in the next two weeks whether to grant an “injunctive relief” to IRD, which would effectively force USAID to lift the suspension, if upheld.
About the author
Molly Andersmollyanders_dev
Molly Anders is a former U.K. correspondent for Devex. Based in London, she reports on development finance trends with a focus on British and European institutions. She is especially interested in evidence-based development and women’s economic empowerment, as well as innovative financing for the protection of migrants and refugees. Molly is a former Fulbright Scholar and studied Arabic in Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco.
