US court rules that Musk’s decision to shut down USAID was probably unconstitutional
A federal judge has ruled that Elon Musk and the Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE) may have used several unconstitutional powers to eliminate the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by The Hill.
"U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang’s ruling in favor of 26 current and former USAID workers (who filed a lawsuit - Ed.) seeks to delay a premature, final shutdown of the agency while litigation continues," the publication noted.
Judge's order requires DOGE to reinstate email and system access to current USAID employees and blocks DOGE personnel from taking "any actions relating" to the agency, without express permission of a USAID official with legal authority.
At the same time, the ruling indicates that Elon Musk is likely exercising enough independent authority to require him to be confirmed by the Senate under the Constitution’s Appointments Clause.
The judge also rejected the Trump administration’s argument that Musk is not the DOGE administrator and is instead merely a senior adviser to the president who has no independent authority.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration reacted with criticism to the court's decision.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the administration would appeal, calling the decision a "miscarriage of justice".
"Rogue judges are subverting the will of the American people in their attempts to stop President Trump from carrying out his agenda. If these Judges want to force their partisan ideologies across the government, they should run for office themselves," Kelly said.
