Two labor unions sued Thursday to try to stop President Trump’s takedown of the U.S. Agency for International Development, arguing he’s gone well beyond the presidency’s powers.
The American Federal of Government Employees and the American Foreign Service Association, which represents nearly 2,000 USAID employees, asked a judge to reopen the agency’s buildings, restore its computer systems and bring back employees.
“The agency’s collapse has had disastrous humanitarian consequences,” the unions argued, pointing to the agency’s work. “Already, 300 babies that would not have had HIV, now do. Thousands of girls and women will die from pregnancy and childbirth. Without judicial intervention, it will only get worse.”
They said USAID, while initially created by executive order, has since been written into law by Congress, and it would take an act of Congress to unravel it the way Mr. Trump has done.
The Trump administration has ordered that nearly all USAID personnel be put on administrative leave as of Saturday. Those posted abroad are being given a 30-day grace period to return to the U.S., though some exceptions can be made for needs such as children’s schooling or medical situations.
The White House contends that USAID is a rogue agency, spending money in ways Congress and the presidency never intended.
“For decades, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been unaccountable to taxpayers as it funnels massive sums of money to the ridiculous — and, in many cases, malicious — pet projects of entrenched bureaucrats, with next-to-no oversight,” the White House said earlier this week in defending the shutdown.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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