Unions sue Trump administration over attack on USAID
February 7, 2025
Unions representing US government workers late Thursday sued the Trump administration over its efforts to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
The USAID website said "all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs."
Multiple news outlets reported that the Trump administration had laid out a plan to cut most of its global workforce that would leave fewer than 300 staffers.
The agency in charge of running life-saving programs around the world has around 10,000 contractors and direct hires worldwide.
How big is US foreign aid?
In 2023, USAID disbursed $71.9 billion (€69.24 billion) in foreign aid and its top recipients were Ukraine, followed by Ethiopia, Jordan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Yemen and Afghanistan, according to a Congressional report.
The amount the agency spent in fiscal 2023 works out to 1.2% of that year's total federal outlays, which were more than $6.1 trillion.
What does the lawsuit say?
The lawsuit was filed in Washington DC federal court by the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Foreign Service Association.
The unions seek an order blocking what it says are "unconstitutional and illegal actions" that have "created a global humanitarian crisis."
The lawsuit alleges that dissolving USAID, which was established as an independent agency in a 1998 law passed by Congress, is beyond Trump's authority under the Constitution and violates his duty to faithfully execute the nation's laws.
Why is USAID in the news?
US President Donald Trump signed an order to pause any new US foreign development assistance for three months on his first day in office but specifics of that order are not defined.
Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with recommending cuts to the federal budget, launched an assault on the aid agency over the weekend.
Since then, the agency's website has been shut down with just a simple message on its homepage highlighting that "all direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally."
Meanwhile, hundreds of contractors have been laid off and more than a thousand employees have been locked out of their accounts without notice.
Edited by: John Silk