Federal Judge Issues Ruling On USAID

The battle over the size and scope of the federal government took another dramatic turn on Tuesday as a federal judge in Maryland temporarily blocked Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from further dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

This ruling represents yet another instance of judicial overreach, as unelected judges continue to stand in the way of efforts to rein in the bloated bureaucracy that has long served as a financial playground for Washington’s elite.

Another lawless order by another activist judge.

The recourse for federal workers who think they were improperly fired is going to the Merit Systems Protection Board.

The recourse for federal contractors is the Court of Federal Claims.

This Obama judge does not have the power… https://t.co/rz8jmvhacU

— Mike Davis (@mrddmia) March 19, 2025

At the center of the dispute is USAID—a controversial agency that, despite claims of foreign aid and development work, has often functioned as a slush fund for politically connected contractors, NGOs, and international special interests.

The agency was originally created via executive order by President John F. Kennedy, a fact that makes the court’s ruling even more puzzling. The judge, U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang, argues that Congress established USAID, which is demonstrably false. If a president had the authority to create the agency through executive action, then a president—especially one supported by a duly authorized Department of Government Efficiency—should have the authority to restructure or eliminate it.

The judge who ruled that disbanding USAID was unconstitutional wrote in the order that USAID was created by Congress. It was not. It was created by executive order by JFK.

— Insurrection Barbie (@DefiyantlyFree) March 18, 2025

Judge Chuang’s preliminary injunction demands that DOGE restore email access and operational functions to USAID employees, including those stationed overseas. The order also mandates that USAID’s headquarters inside the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., be maintained in case the plaintiffs—those suing to stop Musk’s efficiency reforms—ultimately prevail.

The ruling prohibits DOGE from disclosing personal information about USAID employees and requires that any further action related to the agency be approved by a USAID official. In short, an unelected judge is telling the Trump administration and Musk that they must ask permission from the very bureaucrats they are trying to reform before making any changes.

Activist judges have now tried to unilaterally seize control of:

-Federal personnel decisions
-The deportation of terrorists
-Millions in canceled foreign aid payments
-Military readiness

A brazen attack on the executive branch and wildly disrespectful to American voters

— Gates McGavick (@GatesMcgavick) March 19, 2025