(Politico)- 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.
Musk and DOGE “shall not take any action, or engage in any work, relating to the shutdown of USAID,” Chuang wrote in an injunction against the billionaire and his controversial cost-cutting initiative.
Chuang, an appointee of President Barack Obama, also ordered Musk and DOGE personnel to restore access to official computer systems for USAID employees, including those on administrative leave. The judge said Musk and DOGE can have no involvement in further staff reductions or contract cancellations.
In a 68-page opinion accompanying his injunction, Chuang said Musk and DOGE appeared to have violated the Constitution’s separation of powers when they “effectively eliminated” USAID and left the aid agency unable to perform even its basic, legally required functions.
The ultimate impact of the judge’s order remains unclear because it was directed solely at Musk and DOGE personnel, so it’s possible other Trump administration officials could simply reissue any orders initially given by DOGE members. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently acting as the head of USAID.
But the ruling is the latest rebuke by the courts of the sweeping efforts by DOGE to slash and reconfigure the federal bureaucracy without congressional approval, and it comes as Musk has led a public campaign to seek the impeachment and removal of federal judges who have ruled against his efforts and other Trump administration priorities.
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.
“The record supports the conclusion that the USAID officials were not actually independent actors and that even if they were, they in fact would predictably sign off on the actions directed or taken by” Musk and DOGE, the judge wrote.
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.
“Under these circumstances, the evidence presently favors the conclusion that contrary to [the Trump administration’s] sweeping claims that Musk has acted only as an advisor, Musk made the decisions to shutdown USAID’s headquarters and website,” Chuang wrote.
Chuang also cast doubt on claims by the White House that Musk was not actually the head of DOGE, saying that Musk was “at, minimum, likely the official performing the duties and functions of the [DOGE] administrator” during the shutdown of USAID.
A portion of Chuang’s order requires Musk and DOGE to obtain an agreement to allow USAID to return to space at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington if the lawsuit brought by agency employees ultimately succeeds. However, the judge didn’t order the agency’s workers back into its former headquarters now. The judge’s instruction about the offices could have no real-world impact because he said USAID’s acting administrator could simply ratify the decision to shutter the headquarters.
