BREAKING: Judge demands USAID workers be reinstated after DOGE cuts

Elon Musk's DOGE swooped in early on in the Trump administration and eliminated the United States Agency for International Development, firing workers and slashing budgets. On Tuesday, after legal battles, US Judge Theodore Chuang rules in favor of those who brought suit to keep their jobs. 

The Department of Government Efficiency, per Chuang, must reinstate email and access to some USAID workers and prevent DOGE from undertaking "any actions relating" to USAID unless legally authorized. Chuang ruled in favor of 26 workers who challenged the closing of USAID. The 68-page decision indicates that Musk "likely" violated the constitution when dismantling a congressionally approved agency.

"For the foregoing reasons," Chuang, an Obama-appointed judge, states in his ruling, "the Court finds that the Defendants' actions taken to shut down USAID on an accelerated basis, including its apparent decision to permanently close USAID headquarters without the approval of a duly appointed USAID Officer, likely violate the Unites States Constitution in multiple ways, and that these actions harmed not only Plaintiffs, but also the public interest, because they deprived the public's elected representatives in Congress of their constitutional authority to decide whether, when, and how to close down and agency created by Congress.

"Accordingly," it continues, "the Motion for a Preliminary Injunction will be GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The Motion will be granted that the Court will issue the accompanying preliminary injunction. The Motion will be otherwise denied. A separate Order shall issue."

As for Musk, Chuang wrote that "The record of his activities to date establishes that his role has been and will continue to be as the leader of DOGE, with the same duties and degree of continuity as if he was formally in that position." The Trump administration had argued that Musk is not the head of DOGE and does not need to be confirmed by the Senate in their advisory and consent role, therefore.

Chuang countered "If a president could escape Appointments Clause scrutiny by having advisors go beyond the traditional role of White House advisors who communicate the president's priorities to agency heads and instead exercise significant authority throughout the federal government so as to bypass duly appointed officers, the Appointments Clause would be reduced to nothing more than a technical formality."

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