Judge Says Musk Team’s Foreign Aid Terminations Lack Constitutional Authority

GREENBELT, Md. — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to halt the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development in the first ruling to take aim directly at Elon Musk.

The judge said Musk appears to lack constitutional authority because he is unelected and not confirmed by the Senate. 

In addition, the agency was created by Congress so only Congress has the constitutional authority to shut it down, the judge ruled.

If the court ruling is upheld on appeal, it could undercut nearly all government reform efforts ordered by Musk and the Department of Governmental Efficiency he leads.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland said DOGE “likely violated the United States Constitution in multiple ways, and that these actions harmed not only plaintiffs, but also the public interest.”

Hours later, President Donald Trump told Fox News that his administration planned to appeal.

“I guarantee you we will be appealing it. We have rogue judges that are destroying our country,” Trump said.

The lawsuit resulted from an executive order Trump issued Jan. 20 freezing all foreign aid until a review determined whether it was aligned with his administration’s policies.

The same day, Trump signed another executive order creating the Department of Governmental Efficiency “to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”

Since then, Musk and his team have spearheaded mass layoffs of federal workers, accessed data of federal agencies despite concerns over classified information and terminated funding for consumer financial protection, climate change initiatives and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Musk’s Republican supporters say DOGE has so far saved taxpayers $150 billion with more cuts coming. They say they have no better alternative while they face a $36 trillion federal deficit that threatens to bankrupt the U.S. government.

On Feb. 3, Musk wrote on X that he “spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper.” The agency had been operating with a budget of more than $40 billion a year.

Three days later, the Trump administration announced plans to reduce the number of USAID employees from about 10,000 to 290. Its foreign relief efforts were being turned over to the State Department, which plans to eliminate 80% of its programs.

The public policy foundation Center for Global Development estimated 3.3 million people could die within a year after the foreign aid funding freeze, mostly from being unvaccinated or unmedicated from disease.

On Feb. 13, the lawsuit by 26 USAID employees represented by the State Democracy Defenders Fund was filed in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, seeking a preliminary injunction. It alleges violations of the Appointments Clause and separation of powers in the U.S. Constitution.

Musk argued unsuccessfully that he was merely an adviser to the president and his staff, who made the ultimate decisions on personnel and policy.

Chuang said Musk’s actions indicated he effectively exercised direct control over the Agency for International Development.

The judge’s ruling Tuesday orders DOGE to return access to USAID computer systems to its employees and contractors, including thousands who were placed on leave. The judge barred Musk and his team from disclosing employees’ private information.

Norm Eisen, an attorney for the employees who sued, said that the Department of Governmental Affairs is “performing surgery with a chainsaw instead of a scalpel, harming not just the people USAID serves but also the majority of Americans who count on the stability of our government. This case is a milestone in pushing back on Musk and DOGE’s illegality.”

Chuang did not try to reverse the firings of USAID staff or contracts. He said they might be unconstitutional but they were approved by unnamed government officials who appeared to act within their authority.

This week’s ruling represents a second court defeat for the Trump administration over its breakup of USAID.

Last week, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ordered the Trump administration to immediately release frozen payments to contractors of the agency. Unpaid debts of $671 million were due to the contractors by March 10.

The Agency for International Development is an independent U.S. government agency that administers foreign aid and economic development assistance. It was established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to consolidate foreign assistance in one organization.

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