Musk is the volunteer head of the Department of Government Efficiency, a brand new position in a brand new department created by President Donald Trump. Musk shut the USAID headquarters down last week and it will remain so until further notice, prompting the lawsuit from employees whose jobs hang in the balance.
The employees are citing the Constitution’s Appointments Clause in their suit to dispute Musk’s actions over the agency. This clause details that certain governmental actions are “exercised only by persons who are ‘Officers of the United States’” and are most often nominated to their positions by the Senate.
“In his government role, Defendant Musk exercises an extraordinary amount of power. Indeed, the scope and reach of his executive authority appears unprecedented in U.S. history,” the lawsuit reads.
Musk has not publicly commented on the lawsuit as of Thursday afternoon.
“All DOGE did was check to see which federal organizations were violating the POTUS executive orders the most. Turned out to be USAID, so that became our focus,” Musk wrote on X earlier this month.
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This lawsuit comes just as U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols issued a limited order to protect the 2,200 current USAID employees from being placed on leave until the case is reviewed in court. Nichols held the first hearing on Thursday regarding the case.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently the acting administrator for USAID. Rubio explained that he is working to configure how to “absorb certain bureaus, offices, and missions” of the agency into the State Department and other branches.
