A federal judge has rebuked Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency for their efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, declaring that Musk’s effort to erase the agency likely violated the Constitution in “multiple ways.”
But the ruling Tuesday from U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang appears to permit the Trump administration to ratify and maintain the draconian cuts — as long as they are ordered by USAID’s official leadership, rather than by Musk or his allies at DOGE.
Justice Department attorneys defending a slew of lawsuits over DOGE’s activities have insisted that Musk and his team were solely acting as consultants or advisers to agency officials who then made decisions about which recommendations to carry out.
However, Chuang concluded that the dismantling of USAID appeared to be directed almost entirely by the budget-slashing team Musk oversaw.
The effort was likely illegal for two reasons, the judge wrote. First, it appeared to violate the Constitution’s “appointments clause,” which says that government officials wielding significant power must be appointed by the president — and confirmed by the Senate — to offices established by Congress. Musk has not gone through that process. Second, the judge wrote, DOGE’s bid to effectively eliminate USAID appeared to violate laws passed by Congress that dictate the agency’s functions.
Chuang noted that this chain of events mirrors others across the federal government — in which DOGE appeared to be involved in the firing of federal employees responsible for bird flu outbreaks and nuclear weapons, only to be rehired by agency officials.
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