Skye Perryman: “We will continue to use every tool available to protect USADF and fight back against the Trump-Musk overreach”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last night, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order temporarily blocking Elon Musk’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE)’s attempt to access the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) and remove its President Ward Brehm. The ruling came in response to a legal challenge filed by Democracy Forward on behalf of Brehm.
To schedule an interview with Skye Perryman, CEO of Democracy Forward, please email press@democracyforward.org
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CNN: Groups file lawsuit challenging DOGE access at IRS
A Trump-backed government official, staffers from the Department of Government Efficiency and federal law enforcement entered the offices of the U.S. African Development Foundation on Thursday, and the fight between the Senate-confirmed foundation’s board and Trump administration emissaries spilled into an emergency court fight, according to court records and photos of the in-person standoff captured by the New York Times.
The standoff was quelled when a judge stepped in Thursday afternoon, keeping the foundation’s existing board in place for a few days until a court hearing could take place.
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While the lawsuit, filed by lawyers from the left-leaning group Democracy Forward, contests Brehm’s removal from the leadership post, it also argues that it fears the Trump administration is attempting to shutter the fund’s work by ending its foreign development grants and taking over its software systems.
“We will continue to use every tool available to protect USADF and fight back against the Trump-Musk overreach,” Skye Perryman, the head of Democracy Forward, said in a statement on Thursday.
The lawsuit argues that the African Development Foundation’s board must be approved by the Senate. The Foundation was created specifically by an act of Congress 45 years ago, the lawsuit notes.
Federal judge Richard Leon of the DC District Court on Thursday said that from now until at least a court hearing next Tuesday, Brehm can’t be removed from the board and Marocco can’t be appointed to it.
Democracy Docket: One of the Smallest U.S. Agencies Sues to Block DOGE From Shutting it Down
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ousting the head of the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF), one of the smallest agencies in the federal government, who filed a lawsuit Thursday to block Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from shutting the agency down.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, issued the administrative stay while noting there were “significant” statutory and constitutional issues involved in the lawsuit. As part of the stay, which will remain in place until March 11, the judge also ordered the Trump administration could not attempt to install a State Department official to lead USADF.
The lawsuit came as USADF employees were preventing DOGE staffers from unlawfully entering the agency’s headquarters. In one of his recent executive orders, President Donald Trump called for USADF to be eliminated “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”
Ward Brehm, the president of USADF’s board of directors, is also challenging DOGE’s attempts to fire him as president. Represented by Democracy Forward, he alleged that Musk and the Trump administration’s efforts violate the Constitution and federal law.
The lawsuit alleges DOGE staffers first gained access to USADF headquarters under the false pretenses of updating the agency’s computer systems. After USADF learned DOGE instead intended to shut down the agency, it cut Musk’s agency access to its headquarters.
“DOGE employees began threatening members of the Board—telling them that unless they carried out DOGE’s plans to strip USADF to its core, the Board would be fired,” the lawsuit reads.
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About Democracy Forward
Democracy Forward is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.