202 Members of Congress Ask the Court to Stop Trump Administration’s Destruction of USAID, Warn of Devastating Consequences for National Security
In a Friend of the Court Brief, Lawmakers State That Only Congress Has the Power To Shutter the USAID, and Administration Knows Its Actions Violate the Law
FOR IMMEDATE RELEASE
MARCH 31, 2025
Contact: Nicole Funaro, Public Justice nfunaro@publicjustice.net (203) 435-1722
Washington, DC – Calling the Trump administration’s attacks on the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) a “blatant disregard for Congress’s role” that puts “all Americans at risk,” 202 Members of Congress have filed a brief urging the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the administration’s “calculated steps” to dismantle the agency. The Members warn that “devastating consequences” to U.S. national security objectives have already begun, underscoring USAID’s critical role in maintaining stability and protecting American interests across the globe. The Members argue that the administration’s efforts to “unilaterally eliminate” an independent agency created by Congress are not only unconstitutional, they are also being carried out in “knowing violation of statutory mandates.”
The Members joining the brief are represented by Public Justice, a non-profit legal advocacy organization that also represented Members of Congress in NTEU v. Vought. The brief was filed in support of a suit brought by the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees.
“The President does not have the power to dismantle USAID by executive fiat and his administration knows it,” said Hannah Kieschnick, an attorney with Public Justice’s Access to Justice Project. “When a president disagrees with a law enacted by Congress, they must participate in the political process and make a proposal to Congress. They can’t just ignore our constitutional structure and pretend like the laws Congress passed do not apply.”
The plaintiffs brought the suit in response to the actions of senior cabinet members, Elon Musk and DOGE, and senior USAID staff to “shutter the agency, practically and formally.” This includes freezing appropriated funds, cancelling contracts, and laying off or furloughing thousands of employees while locking remaining employees out of their work computers. The brief contends that these efforts were made in known violation of the law, noting that the first Trump administration acknowledged several times that the changes it wanted for USAID would require Congress to change the laws. Since 2017, Congress has explicitly stated that any plan to reorganize, redesign, or make other changes to USAID (including reductions in U.S. presence overseas) cannot be implemented without the Secretary of State first providing detailed justification to Congress. In 2018, it added a second “prior consultation” requirement. These statutory requirements were enacted after President Trump proposed slashing most of USAID’s funding and folding it into the Department of State, and they remain in place today. After the current USAID shutdown was well underway, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a letter to Congress notifying Members that he had authorized a “review and potential reorganization of USAID’s activities” but did not provide any further details or the statutorily required justifications, even after several Members repeatedly reached out. A few weeks later, Congress received a “short memo and spreadsheet” listing which foreign aid projects USAID officials assert will continue. And on March 28—after the defendants had already claimed victory in dismantling USAID—a State Department official provided a letter regarding plans to transfer some USAID functions to the Department before shutting the agency.
The Members state, “Even if the Secretary’s mid-stream letter, the memo, or this afterthought of a notice had complied with statutory requirements—and they did not—there is a constitutional limit” to the changes a President can make to an agency like USAID. They go on to say, “[U]nless and until Congress changes the laws, President Trump must follow them.”
A copy of today’s brief is available here.
# # #
Public Justice takes on the biggest systemic threats to justice of our time — unchecked corporate power and predatory practices, the assault on civil rights and liberties, and the destruction of the earth’s sustainability. We connect high-impact litigation with strategic communications and the strength of our partnerships to fight these abusive and discriminatory systems and win social and economic justice.