Judge Rules DOGE's USAID Shutdown Likely Unconstitutional, Orders Access Restored

Since Trump signed the Jan. 20, 2025 executive order freezing foreign aid and ordering a review of USAID, the administration has placed all but a fraction of the agency's worldwide staff on leave, and a federal court has now weighed in on whether the way it happened was legal.

U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland ruled that the dismantling of USAID by Musk's Department of Government Efficiency likely violated the Constitution, according to the Associated Press. Chuang issued a preliminary injunction indefinitely blocking DOGE from making further cuts to the agency and ordered the Trump administration to restore email and computer access to all USAID employees, including those already placed on administrative leave.

The order does not reverse the firings already carried out or resurrect USAID as a functioning agency. It stops the bleeding without stitching the wound shut.

What the Judge Actually Found

Chuang rejected the administration's core defense: that Musk was merely an advisor to the president with no independent authority. The judge pointed to Musk's own public statements, including a social media post where Musk said he had "fed USAID into the wood chipper," as evidence that Musk exercised "firm control over DOGE."

Under the Appointments Clause, officers who wield significant government power must be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, or appointed through a process Congress has authorized. Musk was never confirmed by the Senate for any role tied to DOGE.

Chuang concluded that USAID has been effectively eliminated as a matter of practical reality, even though Congress created it as an independent agency and never voted to shut it down. "Taken together, these facts support the conclusion that USAID has been effectively eliminated," Chuang wrote, according to the AP. The judge also acknowledged it's likely USAID is no longer capable of performing some of its statutorily required functions.

Two Lawsuits, One Target

The ruling stems from a case brought by USAID employees and contractors, filed by the nonprofit State Democracy Defenders Fund. Norm Eisen, the group's executive chair, called it a milestone, noting it's the first ruling to find Musk's actions violate the Appointments Clause specifically. Eisen said in a statement that DOGE is "performing surgery with a chainsaw instead of a scalpel, harming not just the people USAID serves but the majority of Americans who count on the stability of our government."

A separate but related suit was filed Feb. 6 by the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees, according to Lawfare. That complaint named Trump directly, along with the State Department, USAID, the Treasury Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

The unions argue the administration dismantled USAID without congressional authorization, in violation of the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 and the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024. That 2024 spending law, the unions say, funded USAID as an independent agency and specifically restricted the executive branch's ability to reorganize it. They asked for a temporary restraining order forcing reversal of the cuts and a halt to further dismantling.

The Administration's Case, Stated Fairly

Trump's position, laid out in the Jan. 20 executive order, is that a large share of U.S. foreign assistance was wasteful and advanced a liberal agenda abroad rather than serving American interests. That's a legitimate policy argument, and voters who backed Trump's promise to root out government waste have every right to expect his administration to act on it.

DOGE's stated mission, per the administration, is finding and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse across federal agencies, consistent with a campaign message that helped win the 2024 election. Presidents do have broad authority over how the executive branch implements foreign policy and manages personnel within legal limits.

Chuang identified the problem in the method. Congress created USAID as an independent agency and funded it by statute. If the executive branch wants to eliminate or restructure it, that requires Congress, not a post on X and a non-Senate-confirmed billionaire directing the process. The White House and DOGE did not respond to the AP's request for comment on the ruling.

In February, the administration placed all but a fraction of USAID's worldwide staff on leave and notified at least 1,600 U.S.-based employees they were being terminated, part of a broader push to gut the six-decade-old aid agency and most of its humanitarian and development programs abroad.

What's Unresolved

The injunction is preliminary, not a final judgment, meaning the underlying constitutional question about Musk's role and DOGE's authority will still be litigated. It also leaves open whether the at least 1,600 fired employees get their jobs back, or whether USAID's humanitarian and development programs abroad can be restarted at all.

Separately, reporting has noted the U.S. faces a deadline to pay billions owed for aid work already completed before the shutdown, an obligation the injunction doesn't directly resolve. Whether Congress moves to formally codify or reverse USAID's status remains an open question.