Fourth Circuit Grants Temporary Permission for DOGE to Continue Overhauling USAID

March 26, 2025 TruthUSA

A recent ruling emerged just a week after a federal district judge halted the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle USAID.

On March 25, a federal appeals court granted a temporary stay on a lower court’s decision that had blocked efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to downsize the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a brief, unsigned order, stating that the preliminary injunction issued on March 18 by U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang, based in Maryland, “hereby is stayed until the close of business of Thursday, March 27, 2025.”

The order did not provide any reasoning for the decision.

On February 4, when asked by a reporter if President Donald Trump intended to “wind down” USAID, he replied, “I think so.”

DOGE leader Elon Musk has “done an excellent job. Look at all the fraud he’s uncovered in this USAID … radical left lunatics,” Trump stated.

Judge Chuang found in his injunction that the actions taken by Musk and the DOGE team to dismantle USAID, an agency that provides humanitarian aid, likely violated the U.S. Constitution.

Chuang ruled that shutting down the USAID headquarters, laying off the majority of the agency’s staff, and terminating most of USAID’s contracts would violate the constitutional principle of separation of powers, as outlined in his March 18 order.

The Trump administration contended that Article II of the Constitution empowers the executive branch to downsize the agency as part of the president’s authority in managing the nation’s foreign relations.

Chuang dismissed that argument, stating that the president’s actions pertain mostly to the structure and resources of a federal agency, rather than to the direct execution of foreign policy or interaction with foreign governments.

According to the judge, the actions of Musk and DOGE “harmed … the public interest, as they deprived elected representatives in Congress of their constitutional authority to decide whether, when, and how to close down an agency established by Congress.”

The judge instructed Musk and DOGE to restore access for USAID workers and contractors to USAID systems and prohibited any further actions regarding the termination of contracts or the employment of agency workers.

The Fourth Circuit’s new ruling followed an emergency application filed by the U.S. Department of Justice on March 21, seeking an administrative stay pending an appeal of Chuang’s order about the injunction.

The application argued that the injunction should be stayed because Chuang incorrectly concluded that Musk “is likely an officer” of the United States whose appointment needs Senate confirmation.

The application claimed that Musk “is not an officer because he does not possess ‘significant authority pursuant to the laws of the United States,’” referencing the 1991 Supreme Court ruling in Freytag v. Commissioner.

Musk holds a “purely advisory role that falls short of any recognized level of ‘significant authority’ for officer status.”

He is unable to make “final decisions that bind the Executive Branch,” nor can he “establish policy” on behalf of the Executive Branch, according to the application.

On March 5, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration must proceed with the disbursement of $2 billion in foreign aid.

The Supreme Court upheld a temporary restraining order issued on February 26 by U.S. District Judge Amir Ali of the District of Columbia, which mandated USAID and the Department of State to restore funding for contracts that existed prior to January 20—the date of Trump’s inauguration—but were put on hold by the Trump administration.

The Supreme Court instructed Judge Ali to “clarify what obligations the Government must fulfill to ensure adherence to the temporary restraining order, considering the feasibility of any compliance timelines.”

On January 20, Trump issued Executive Order 14169, placing a “90-day pause on United States foreign development assistance for the assessment of programmatic efficiencies and alignment with United States foreign policy.”

DOGE commenced operations on the first day of Trump’s second term. The organization suggests cost-reduction measures that the Trump administration may opt to implement.

Trump signed Executive Order 14158 on January 20, establishing DOGE and reorganizing the U.S. Digital Service—which was initiated by President Barack Obama in 2014 within the Executive Office of the President—as the U.S. DOGE Service, according to a Congressional Research Service report.

This executive order tasked the entity with implementing the President’s DOGE Agenda, aimed at modernizing federal technology and software to enhance governmental efficiency and productivity.

Contributions to this report were made by Zachary Stieber and Reuters.

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