The American Federation of Government Employees and the American Foreign Service Association filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Trump administration, seeking to block what they call the "unconstitutional and illegal" dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The suit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., names President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as defendants, accusing them of causing a "global humanitarian crisis" by halting foreign aid programs.
The lawsuit challenges Trump's January 20 executive order freezing all foreign assistance, which was followed by State Department directives terminating USAID projects worldwide. The administration has since placed most of the agency's employees on administrative leave and shut down its offices, with plans to retain fewer than 300 employees out of more than 10,000. "USAID provides life-saving food, medicine, and support to hundreds of thousands of people across the world. Without agency partners to implement this mission, US-led medical clinics, soup kitchens, refugee assistance programs, and countless other initiatives shuttered to an immediate halt," the complaint states.
Elon Musk, who leads the administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been a vocal advocate for dismantling USAID. Earlier this week, he posted on X that his team had "spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper." The lawsuit cites Musk's statements as evidence of reckless disregard for the agency's statutory authority and humanitarian mission.
The Trump administration has defended its actions as a necessary reform of what it calls an inefficient and mismanaged bureaucracy. Rubio told reporters Thursday that the administration remains committed to providing foreign aid, but "it is going to be foreign aid that makes sense and is aligned with our national interests." The White House has not commented on the lawsuit.
The cuts have already disrupted major global health initiatives, including efforts to combat malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. "Already, 300 babies that would not have had HIV now do. Thousands of girls and women will die from pregnancy and childbirth," the lawsuit states.
Atul Gawande, a surgeon who previously led global health programs for USAID, warned that the shutdown is exacerbating crises worldwide. "Kids with drug-resistant TB, turned away from clinics, are not just dying - they're spreading the disease. People around the world [with] HIV, denied their medicine, will soon start transmitting the virus. The damage is global," he wrote on X.
Former USAID administrator Samantha Power, who served under President Joe Biden, described the agency's dismantling as "one of the worst and most costly foreign policy blunders in U.S. history." Writing in The New York Times, she argued that the move is a strategic victory for U.S. adversaries. "I am not surprised that the attacks are being cheered by Moscow and Beijing," Power wrote. "They understand what those seeking to dismantle the agency are desperate to hide from the American people: USAID has become America's superpower in a world defined by threats that cross borders and amid growing strategic competition."
The funding freeze has also stalled $340 million worth of food aid, leaving millions at risk of starvation. USAID's website now states that as of midnight Friday, "all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership, and specially designated programs."
The lawsuit argues that Trump's actions exceed his constitutional authority, as USAID was established by congressional statute in 1998. "Not a single one of defendants' actions to dismantle USAID were taken pursuant to congressional authorization," the complaint states. The plaintiffs are seeking a temporary restraining order to reinstate funding, reopen offices, and block further dissolution of the agency.
