The Blubber

On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that Elon Musk and the so-called "Department of Government Efficiency" (Doge) likely violated the U.S. Constitution when they shut down USAID, ordering the Trump administration to reverse some of its actions to dismantle the agency.

U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang's decision was extensive in its scope and marked a significant setback for the administration's effort to reduce the size and influence of federal agencies.

As part of the injunction, the judge blocked efforts to terminate USAID officials and contractors and ordered the reinstatement of former employees' access to their government email, security systems, and payment platforms.

The judge also mandated that the administration allow USAID to return to its currently closed headquarters at the Ronald Reagan Building if the ongoing case challenging the agency's shutdown is successful. The Trump administration is expected to appeal the decision.

The lawsuit, brought by over two dozen former USAID employees in federal district court in Maryland, focused on Musk's role in overseeing the deletion of the USAID website and the closure of its headquarters.

In his 68-page opinion, Chuang argued that Musk likely violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause by effectively wielding the powers of an "officer of the United States" — a position that requires Senate confirmation.

"If a president could bypass appointments clause scrutiny by having advisers act beyond the traditional role of White House advisors who convey the president’s priorities to agency heads," Chuang wrote, "the appointments clause would be reduced to nothing more than a technical formality."

The Trump administration has claimed that the efforts to dismantle USAID were led by the agency's leaders — Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Acting Administrator Pete Marocco — who were following Musk's recommendations.

However, Chuang disputed this claim regarding the closure of USAID’s headquarters and the erasure of its website, stating that the administration provided no evidence showing these actions were formally authorized by a USAID official.

"Given these circumstances, the evidence currently suggests that contrary to the defendants' sweeping assertion that Musk acted solely as an advisor, Musk made the decisions to shut down USAID's headquarters and website despite lacking the authority to do so," Chuang wrote.

The injunction follows six weeks of chaos at USAID, where 5,200 out of 6,200 global programs were abruptly terminated, staff were locked out of facilities and systems, and employees were reportedly instructed to destroy classified documents using shredders and "burn bags."