Demonstrators and lawmakers rally against President Donald Trump and his ally Elon Musk as they disrupt the federal government, including dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development, which administers foreign aid approved by Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON — Federal workers associations filed suit late Thursday asking a federal court to stop the Trump administration’s “effective dismantling” of the lead US aid agency.
The lawsuit by the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees comes as the new Trump administration and ally Elon Musk are targeting the US Agency for International Development for eradication, freezing its funds and placing almost all its workers on leave or furlough.
The lawsuit says President Donald Trump lacks the authority to shut down an agency enshrined in congressional legislation. It asks the federal court in Washington to compel the reopening of USAID’s buildings, return its staffers to work, and restore funding.
READ: US aid agency places global staff on leave as part of Trump’s purge
As an earlier AP story reported, the Trump administration presented a plan Thursday to dramatically cut staffing worldwide for US aid projects as part of its dismantling of the US Agency for International Development, leaving fewer than 300 workers out of thousands.
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Two current USAID employees and one former senior USAID official told AP of the administration’s plan, presented to remaining senior officials of the agency Thursday. They spoke on condition of anonymity amid a Trump administration order barring USAID staffers from talking to anyone outside their agency.
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The plan would leave fewer than 300 staffers on the job out of what are currently 8,000 direct-hires and contractors. They, along with an unknown number of 5,000 locally hired international staffers abroad, would run the few life-saving programs that the administration says it intends to keep going for the time being.
It was not immediately clear whether the reduction to 300 would be permanent or temporary, potentially allowing more workers to return after what the Trump administration says is a review of which aid and development programs it wants to resume.
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