Judge Permits Trump to Assume Control of U.S. African Development Foundation
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon has allowed the Trump administration to proceed with the dismissal of a foreign aid agency leader, while expressing skepticism regarding some of the president's most assertive legal claims.
TroibNews 
A federal judge has permitted President Donald Trump to proceed with his takeover of a federally funded foundation that provides aid to Africa. However, he cautioned the Trump administration on Tuesday against interpreting this short-term victory as a mandate to dismantle the agency.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon denied the temporary restraining order requested by U.S. African Development Foundation President Ward Brehm, which aimed to keep him in office and prevent State Department official Pete Marocco from taking control of the foundation. This ruling came after a brief stay Leon had imposed the previous week, allowing Brehm to remain in his position.
Appointed by President George W. Bush, Leon indicated that Brehm did not qualify for emergency relief because there was no evidence suggesting he would suffer irreparable harm by being removed.
“Brehm has not identified any cognizable irreparable harm to himself as opposed to potential harm to the agency and its partners,” Leon wrote.
However, Leon suggested that the Trump administration's success might be temporary, mentioning significant uncertainty about whether Trump’s attempt to place Marocco in the role temporarily exceeded his authority.
The judge questioned the broad executive power claim from the Trump administration, which argued that Trump has the authority under the Constitution to appoint individuals to vacant positions on a temporary basis, even when existing laws suggest he cannot.
“The court has not found — and the government has not identified — any other statute that provides President Trump with the authority to appoint Marocco as the acting Chairman of the board,” Leon noted in his 10-page ruling.
During a hearing earlier that day, a Justice Department attorney stated that the Constitution grants Trump the power to make acting appointments for a “reasonable” duration.
“It comes from his inherent authority under Article II … to make sure the laws are faithfully executed,” said Deputy Associate Attorney General Abhishek Kambli.
Brehm's lawsuit, filed last week, includes a somewhat obscure argument that four members of the foundation's board were never properly dismissed because Trump administration aides sent termination emails to addresses they appeared to have guessed, which the board members assert are not in use.
Leon refrained from addressing whether those allegedly defective notices were adequate to keep the board members in their roles. However, he remarked that the Trump administration failed to provide evidence countering Brehm’s assertion that the board members were not correctly informed of their removals.
“The Government has not provided the Court with an authenticating declaration, genuine printouts of the emails, nor any sort of attestation or proof that the emails did not bounce back,” the judge wrote, noting that one board member's name was misspelled in a seemingly improvised email address.
In a Feb. 19 executive order, Trump designated USADF among several agencies he marked as “unnecessary” and targeted for elimination “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”
During Tuesday’s hearing, Brehm’s attorney, Joel McElvain, contended that members of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency had accessed the foundation's offices under false pretenses and could severely damage the operation.
“There will be no agency … to return to,” McElvain said. “They will destroy the records. They will destroy the database.”
However, Leon stated that Brehm's legal team lacked conclusive evidence that USADF would suffer the same fate as the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has reportedly been effectively dissolved and integrated into the State Department, primarily under Marocco's direction.
“As far as I can tell … this is speculation,” the judge remarked during the hearing.
Leon mentioned he was accepting the government’s assurances that the Trump administration did not intend to shut down the foundation or its operations. He also warned that he would summon members of the DOGE team to explain their actions under oath.
“This shuttering concern that plaintiff has, I share that concern,” the judge stated.
Olivia Brown for TROIB News
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon denied the temporary restraining order requested by U.S. African Development Foundation President Ward Brehm, which aimed to keep him in office and prevent State Department official Pete Marocco from taking control of the foundation. This ruling came after a brief stay Leon had imposed the previous week, allowing Brehm to remain in his position.
Appointed by President George W. Bush, Leon indicated that Brehm did not qualify for emergency relief because there was no evidence suggesting he would suffer irreparable harm by being removed.
“Brehm has not identified any cognizable irreparable harm to himself as opposed to potential harm to the agency and its partners,” Leon wrote.
However, Leon suggested that the Trump administration's success might be temporary, mentioning significant uncertainty about whether Trump’s attempt to place Marocco in the role temporarily exceeded his authority.
The judge questioned the broad executive power claim from the Trump administration, which argued that Trump has the authority under the Constitution to appoint individuals to vacant positions on a temporary basis, even when existing laws suggest he cannot.
“The court has not found — and the government has not identified — any other statute that provides President Trump with the authority to appoint Marocco as the acting Chairman of the board,” Leon noted in his 10-page ruling.
During a hearing earlier that day, a Justice Department attorney stated that the Constitution grants Trump the power to make acting appointments for a “reasonable” duration.
“It comes from his inherent authority under Article II … to make sure the laws are faithfully executed,” said Deputy Associate Attorney General Abhishek Kambli.
Brehm's lawsuit, filed last week, includes a somewhat obscure argument that four members of the foundation's board were never properly dismissed because Trump administration aides sent termination emails to addresses they appeared to have guessed, which the board members assert are not in use.
Leon refrained from addressing whether those allegedly defective notices were adequate to keep the board members in their roles. However, he remarked that the Trump administration failed to provide evidence countering Brehm’s assertion that the board members were not correctly informed of their removals.
“The Government has not provided the Court with an authenticating declaration, genuine printouts of the emails, nor any sort of attestation or proof that the emails did not bounce back,” the judge wrote, noting that one board member's name was misspelled in a seemingly improvised email address.
In a Feb. 19 executive order, Trump designated USADF among several agencies he marked as “unnecessary” and targeted for elimination “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”
During Tuesday’s hearing, Brehm’s attorney, Joel McElvain, contended that members of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency had accessed the foundation's offices under false pretenses and could severely damage the operation.
“There will be no agency … to return to,” McElvain said. “They will destroy the records. They will destroy the database.”
However, Leon stated that Brehm's legal team lacked conclusive evidence that USADF would suffer the same fate as the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has reportedly been effectively dissolved and integrated into the State Department, primarily under Marocco's direction.
“As far as I can tell … this is speculation,” the judge remarked during the hearing.
Leon mentioned he was accepting the government’s assurances that the Trump administration did not intend to shut down the foundation or its operations. He also warned that he would summon members of the DOGE team to explain their actions under oath.
“This shuttering concern that plaintiff has, I share that concern,” the judge stated.
Olivia Brown for TROIB News
