As the Musk-Trump Agenda Pursues its Assault on USAID, Legal Challenge Continues
Today, Democracy Forward and Public Citizen Litigation Group filed a motion for summary judgment on behalf of the American Foreign Service Association, American Federation of Government Employees, and Oxfam America to block the Trump administration from shutting down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
“The workers of USAID have been left high and dry after the Trump administration terminated almost all of its 10,000 person workforce,” said Everett Kelley, AFGE National President. “This hostile takeover has undermined our members’ ability to deliver aid across the world and create a safer, healthier world for Americans. We must bring back these jobs and protect our members’ critical work.”
“USAID’s Foreign Service members are dedicated, nonpartisan public servants working to make America safer and more prosperous,” said AFSA President Tom Yazdgerdi.“ Their mass termination has devastated livelihoods, upended families, and weakened U.S. leadership on the world stage. We will continue to fight until this injustice is made right.”
“Organizations across the aid sector, including Oxfam America, and the communities they serve have been devastated by the Trump administration’s evisceration of USAID. These cynical cuts have already brought deadly consequences to some of the world’s poorest communities, robbing them of lifesaving food, water, medicines and other essential services,” said Abby Maxman, President and CEO of Oxfam America.
“The Trump administration’s coordinated campaign to isolate America in the world will have dire consequences on the life-saving services USAID provides. We will continue to pursue all legal options to protect this vital agency and the livelihoods of its workers,” said Kaitlyn Golden, Senior Counsel for Democracy Forward.
“The fight to protect USAID is far from over,” said Public Citizen Litigation Group Attorney Lauren Bateman. “It is illegal and unconstitutional for the Executive Branch to unilaterally dissolve a federal agency. The Administration’s efforts to do so have already led to death and disease, in addition to threatening the livelihood of thousands of American workers.”
Read the original complaint here and the amended complaint to include Oxfam America as a plaintiff here. The motion for summary judgment is available here.
Oxfam is a global organization that fights inequality to end poverty and injustice. We offer lifesaving support in times of crisis and advocate for economic justice, gender equality, and climate action. We demand equal rights and equal treatment so that everyone can thrive, not just survive. The future is equal. Join us at oxfamamerica.org.
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