President Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team just won a third case at the US Court of Appeals.
DOGE will be free to continue operating at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) after a ruling by the Court.
A group of USAID employees sued saying the Trump administration violated the US Constitution’s Appointments Clause by allowing Elon Musk and his DOGE team to cancel government contracts, place USAID staff on administrative leave, and close the headquarters.
For clarification, DOGE is a review and recommend agency, they do not make administrative or operational changes at any department. Agency and cabinet heads make those decisions.
Late last week, U.S. Court of Appeals Circuit judges Arthur Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. and Judge Paul V. Niemeyer found that Trump’s team "made a strong showing that they are likely to succeed on the merits of the appeal, that they will be irreparably injured absent the stay," according to court documents. The judges also found that the stay "favors the public interest."
A district court had blocked DOGE from going forward, but the Court of Appeals saw it differently. DOGE review at USAID can continue. The ruling stated, “And as to Musk, the evidence before us creates a strong likelihood that he functioned as an advisor to the President, carrying out the President’s policies of shrinking government and reducing spending, not as an Officer who required constitutional appointment.
Trump through DOGE took aim at USAID from the start. Trump is not alone in having deep concerns about USAID and foreign aid. USAID has been criticized for being inefficient and poorly managed for many years. An Associated Press poll showed that 60% felt that the United States was spending too much taxpayer money on foreign aid.
What is USAID? They are an agency of the federal government that funnels taxpayer dollars across the world to USAID partners with private voluntary organizations, indigenous organizations, universities, the private sector, international agencies, other governments, and other U.S. Government agencies.
USAID’s federal spending has increased from $10.5 billion in 1980 and grew to $40 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2023. Savings projected from the cuts is between $6-12 billion depending on what analysis method is used.
On the face of it, it sounds like USAID does good works around the globe and they do get involved with some important humanitarian projects. But, they also have substantially spread out of their core mission and embraced the woke agenda of DEI, transgender ideology, cruel animal experiments, and other shocking things.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he cut 83% and terminated 5,200 programs at USAID.
Some programs are clearly outside of the interests of America according to the policies and agenda set out by President Trump. USAID and other partner organizations spent taxpayer funds on things such as $1.5 million to advance DEI in Serbian workplaces; $70,000 for a DEI musical in Ireland; $47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia; $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru.
Other core programs that are found to be critical will be retained and ‘live’ under the umbrella of other federal agencies.