Is DOGE a ‘Constitutional Crisis’?
Into the wood chipper: For the last 60 years, the U.S. Agency for International Development has doled out humanitarian assistance to the rest of the world. Its budget is roughly $50 billion.
Over the weekend, it all appeared to come to a close: the Department of Government Efficiency head honcho Elon Musk was reportedly ordered by President Donald Trump to shutter it. “U.S.A.I.D. employees were told overnight not to report to work on Monday….But not all employees were able to read the [emailed note], as many had already been locked out of their accounts,” per The New York Times. “Hundreds of contractors, who make up the bulk of the staff in field offices, lost access to their official emails and systems over the weekend, according to five people with knowledge of the changes.” Musk has apparently already fired half of the agency’s global health arm, tweeting out “spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper.”
Employees started protesting outside of the agency’s headquarters after news of their termination became public. Some Democratic members of Congress joined in. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that he’s now the acting administrator of the agency and that some of the existing programs would continue under the State Department, but that the agency itself had to be shuttered because of workers’ “rank insubordination.”
“They don’t consider that they work for the U.S.,” Rubio told Fox. “They just think they’re a global entity and that their master is the globe and not the United States, and that’s not what the statute says, and that’s not sustainable.”
Their union—because of course they have a union—responded: “The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) strongly objects to the administration’s decision to dismantle the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This will undermine U.S. national security, may subvert Congressional authority, and demonstrates a lack of respect for the dedication of the development professionals who serve America’s interests abroad.”
Some have criticized Musk and Trump’s move by noting that USAID’s funds make up less than 1 percent of the federal budget. Others have called this a “constitutional crisis,” saying that this must be done by Congress, not by executive decree—something the union gestured at when they mentioned that DOGE’s move “may subvert Congressional authority.”
It is absolutely a constitutional crisis. The president has zero legal authority to “shut down,” defund, or otherwise cripple a $50 billion agency.
Audit it, identify unnecessary expenditures, draft reform or rescission proposals, and then go to Congress to PASS A LAW. https://t.co/cRvHigoW66
— Brian Riedl ???? ???????? (@Brian_Riedl) February 3, 2025
“Any effort to merge or fold USAID into the Department of State should be, and by law must be, previewed, discussed, and approved by Congress,” Senate Democrats wrote in a letter to Rubio.
DOE might be DONE: “President Donald Trump is preparing an executive order aimed at eventually closi
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