Federal employee associations in the United States requested a federal high court in Washington to prevent the Donald Trump administration from closing the United States Agency for International Development.
The action was brought by the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees.
The workers’ lawsuit is based on the notion that USAID is a congressional entity that the executive branch cannot destroy.
USAID is the world’s leading development agency, responsible for billions of dollars in US aid initiatives around the world. Its areas of operation include healthcare, disaster assistance, nutrition, and sex education.
Trump and the Tesla CEO and head of the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, have targeted USAID as part of a wide-ranging move to shrink the federal workforce and save taxpayer funds.
On February 5, USAID announced that it was placing all directly hired staff globally on administrative leave after DOGE staffers forcefully gained access to its headquarters and database.
The agency also said personnel posted overseas would be recalled within 30 days.
On Thursday, the Trump administration presented a plan to dismantle USAID — which would see the agency reduced to 300 staff from 10,000.
Democrats in Congress have described the administration’s moves as unconstitutional.
In their suit, the workers are asking the court to compel the Trump administration to reopen USAID buildings, return employees to work and restore funding.
They said government officials “failed to acknowledge the catastrophic consequences of their actions, both as they pertain to American workers, the lives of millions around the world, and to US national interests”.
Trump intends to effectively dismantle USAID and move the organisation’s operations to the State Department
