Key points
- Lawsuit filed by labour groups in Washington DC
- Lawsuit argues president does not have the authority to shut down USAID
- Rubio defends Trump’s moves against USAID
WASHINGTON: Unions representing workers of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have filed a petition against US President Donald Trump and his administration over the White House’s plan to drastically shrink the department’s staff.
US media and BBC reported that USAID employees were told to expect the agency’s staff to decrease from around 10,000 to less than 300 internationally.
The lawsuit filed by the labour groups in Washington DC argues the country’s president does not have the authority to shut down the USAID.
BBC reported that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the US is “not walking away from foreign aid”.
The Trump administration has said USAID is wasting money and needs to align with the president’s policy priorities.
First legal action
Thursday’s lawsuit was filed by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA). It is the first legal action linked to Trump’s measures to cut USAID.
In addition to Trump, the lawsuit takes aim at the US State Department, USAID, the Treasury Department, the Secretary of State and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, BBC reported.
The lawsuit argues that the president is breaching the Constitution and federal law by attempting to dismantle the agency.
“Not a single one of defendants’ actions to dismantle USAID were taken pursuant to congressional authorisation,” the lawsuit adds.
“And pursuant to federal statute, Congress is the only entity that may lawfully dismantle the agency.”
It calls for an independent acting director of USAID to be appointed, for USAID buildings to be reopened to employees, for the USAID website to be restored, for grants and contracts to be reinstated, and for mandatory evacuation notices to staff to be lifted, according to BBC.
Thousands of American jobs
“These actions have generated a global humanitarian crisis by abruptly halting the crucial work of USAID employees, grantees, and contractors. They have cost thousands of American jobs. And they have imperilled US national security interests,” according to the lawsuit.
Earlier, on Wednesday, Rubio defended Trump’s moves against USAID, telling regarding 200 agency workers in Guatemala that the US does not plan to stop distributing aid to foreign nations. But he said that the programmes must align with US priorities.
“The United States is not walking away from foreign aid,” America’s top diplomat said. “It’s not.
