DOGE’s USAID Takeover Likely Violated the Constitution, Judge Says

Billionaire Elon Musk overseeing the Trump administration’s attempted takeover of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) “likely violated the United States Constitution in multiple ways,” a federal judge in Maryland determined Tuesday.

Judge Theodore Chuang, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, ordered that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could not take additional steps toward shutting USAID and must restore USAID employees’ access to electronic systems.

Chuang rebuked Musk and DOGE for violating Congress’s constitutional authority to appropriate funds and create or shut down federal agencies. Specifically, the judge said they likely violated the Appointments Clause and the constitutional principle of Separation of Powers.

“These actions harmed not only Plaintiffs, but also the public interest, because they deprived the public’s elected representatives in Congress of their constitutional authority to decide whether, when, and how to close down an agency created by Congress,” the judge wrote.

He granted, in part,  the preliminary injunction as part of a lawsuit challenging DOGE’s takeover of the agency brought by dozens of USAID employees being represented by State Democracy Defenders Action. 

“Today’s decision is an important victory against Elon Musk and his DOGE attack on USAID, the United States’ government, and the Constitution,” said Norm Eisen, executive chair of State Democracy Defenders Fund.  “They are 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.”

The judge specifically pushed back on the Trump administration’s argument that Musk isn’t leading DOGE, which would require Senate confirmation, but is a senior adviser to President Donald Trump.

“Even if viewed from the standpoint of the Senior Advisor position that he occupies on paper, the record of his activities to date establishes that his role has been and will continue to be as the leader of DOGE, with the same duties and degree of continuity as if he was formally in that position,” the judge wrote.