A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday overturned a ruling that barred Elon Musk's Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE) from further cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). This was reported by the Associated Press, writes UNN.
Details
The court's decision allows the Donald Trump administration to proceed with the liquidation of the agency responsible for international aid and development. According to the Associated Press, a member of Musk's team said that "virtually all" jobs at USAID would be cut by September. Layoff letters began arriving to employees shortly after Jeremy Levine, a former member of the DOGE team, took over management responsibilities at the agency.
According to reports, the administration's goal is to end the agency's "independent activities" by September.
In a separate statement, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the administration formally notified Congress on Friday of its plans to cut most USAID programs and transfer the remaining functions to the State Department.
The court order blocking DOGE from further cuts was issued in response to a lawsuit that was one of the first filed against Musk himself. It argued that DOGE's actions were unconstitutional because he had significant power without being elected or approved by the Senate.
A lower court judge agreed, but a three-judge appeals panel sided with the Trump administration, at least for now. It found that while DOGE played a role in the liquidation of USAID, the cuts were approved by government officials.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled that social media posts, such as Musk's statement that he had "fed USAID to the wood chipper," were not legal evidence that he gave such orders.
The court ruled that the evidence indicated that he was acting as an advisor to President Donald Trump, carrying out his policy of eradicating what he calls waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government.
"While the role and actions of the defendants in connection with USAID are unconventional, unconventionality does not necessarily mean unconstitutionality," wrote U.S. District Judge Marvin Quattlebaum, a Trump appointee.
He said additional evidence may be discovered as the lawsuit proceeds, but the record does not currently support removing DOGE from USAID.
Recall
Earlier, Fox News reported that American entrepreneur, senior advisor to the US President and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Elon Musk gave an assessment of the work of the department. In particular, he noted that this is a "revolution, perhaps the biggest revolution since the primitive people"