A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that Elon Musk probably exercised unconstitutional power in orchestrating Trump administration efforts to close down the US agency that manages foreign aid.
Although the decision is limited to the US Agency for International Development, it marks the most direct ruling so far about the legality of the role that the billionaire Tesla chief executive has occupied in the White House since President Donald Trump took office in January.
US District Judge Theodore Chuang of Maryland wrote that the current and former USAID employees and contractors who sued were likely to succeed in arguing that, when it came to the decision to permanently close the agency’s headquarters, Mr Musk “exercised significant authority” reserved for officers of the US in breach of the Constitution’s Appointments Clause.
Mr Chuang barred Mr Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency from taking action related to the agency’s closing, sharing personal information about the employees or taking other action there without approval from a USAID official.
The judge also directed Doge to restore access to emails and other electronic systems for current USAID employees and contractors, even if they have been placed on administrative leave.
Although the administration has said in court that Mr Musk is not the formal head of Doge and does not have authority to make decisions at agencies, Mr Chuang found that the plaintiffs presented significant evidence that he was exercising that power.
In Tuesday’s decision, the judge quoted Mr Trump’s statements about putting Mr Musk “in charge” and wrote that Mr Musk’s comments and social media posts “demonstrate that he has firm control over Doge".
The judge acknowledged that it is likely that USAID is no longer capable of performing some of its statutorily required functions.
“Taken together, these facts support the conclusion that USAID has been effectively eliminated,” Mr Chuang wrote in the preliminary injunction.
He also found that the administration’s push to dismantle USAID, which was created by Congress, probably breached the Constitution’s principles on separation of powers.
“The public interest is specifically harmed by defendants’ actions, which have usurped the authority of the public’s elected representatives in Congress to make decisions on whether, when and how to eliminate a federal government agency,” the judge wrote.
The mission of Doge, which was founded by Mr Trump, is to root out government waste and cut spending. The department has since ordered the cutting of thousands of federal jobs.
In February, the Trump administration placed all but a fraction of USAID’s worldwide staff on leave and notified at least 1,600 of its US-based employees that they were being fired. The effort to hollow out the six-decade-old aid agency was part of a broader push to eradicate it and most of its humanitarian and development programmes abroad.
Mr Trump on inauguration day issued an executive order directing a freeze of foreign assistance funding and a review of all US aid and development work abroad, saying much of it was wasteful and advanced a liberal agenda.
