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Federal workers associations in the US have asked a federal high court in Washington to stop the Donald Trump administration from shutting down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The lawsuit was filed by the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).
The workers hinge their suit on the argument that USAID is a creation of congress which cannot be dismantled by the executive branch of government.
USAID is the world’s foremost development agency responsible for billions of dollars in US aid projects across the globe. Its scope of operations include healthcare, disaster relief, nutrition, and sex education.
Trump and Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO and head of the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), have targeted USAID as part of a wide ranging move to shrink the federal workforce and save taxpayer funds.
On February 5, USAID announced that it was placing all directly-hired staff globally on administrative leave after DOGE staffers forcefully gained access to its headquarters and database.
The agency also said personnel posted overseas would be recalled within 30 days.
On Thursday, the Trump administration presented a plan to dismantle USAID — which would see the agency reduced to 300 staff from 10,000.
Democrats in congress have described the administration’s moves as unconstitutional.
In their suit, the workers are asking the court to compel the Trump administration to reopen USAID buildings, return employees to work and restore funding.
They said government officials “failed to acknowledge the catastrophic consequences of their actions, both as they pertain to American workers, the lives of millions around the world, and to US national interests”.
Trump intends to effectively dismantle USAID and move the organisation’s operations to the State Department.
Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, said USAID must align its programmes with policies of the Trump administration to move forward.
“The United States is not walking away from foreign aid. It’s not,” Rubio said on Wednesday during a visit to Guatemala.
“We’re going to continue to provide foreign aid and to be involved in programmes, but it has to be programmes that we can defend.
“It has to be programmes that we can explain. It has to be programmes that we can justify. Otherwise, we do endanger foreign aid.”
