Appeals court clears way for DOGE to keep operating at USAID

Federal appeals court lifts order blocking Elon Musk's DOGE from further cuts at USAID, likely constitutional, overturning previous ruling.

A federal appeals court on Friday (March 28, 2025) lifted an order blocking Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from further cuts at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The lawsuit was among of the first filed against Mr. Musk himself. It argued that DOGE’s actions were unconstitutional because he was wielding significant power without being elected or Senate approved.

A lower court judge agreed, but the three-judge appeals court panel sided with the Trump administration on Friday (March 28, 2025), at least for now. It found that while DOGE played a part in the dismantling of USAID, the cuts were approved by government officials.

The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals found that social-media posts like Mr. Musk’s declaration that he “fed USAID into the wood chipper” didn’t legally prove he was making the orders.

Rather, the evidence indicates he was acting as an adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, carrying out his policies of rooting out what he calls waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government, the court found.

“While defendants’ role and actions related to USAID are not conventional, unconventional does not necessarily equal unconstitutional,” Circuit Judge Marvin Quattlebaum, who was appointed by Mr. Trump, wrote. More evidence may be unearthed as the lawsuit keeps playing out but for now the record doesn’t support barring DOGE from USAID, he said.

If the plaintiffs say that the dismantling of USAID violates the constitutional separation of powers, those claims should be directed at the administration, the appeals court suggested.