Washington – A small federal agency of the United States is expected to invest in small African businesses in the Court on Tuesday fights for control over its operations and existence.
The United States African Development Foundation last week tried to keep Elon Musk staff. Government Efficiency Department of Entering your offices in Washington. Doge’s staff managed to enter after returning with the US sheriffs.
Ward Brehm, the president of Usadf, sued Trump administration last week, saying in a complaint that the acquisition attempt was illegal and that neither President Donald Trump nor Doge had the authority to close their operations or replace the members of their Board and President.
Hours later, American district judge Richard J. Leon in Washington temporarily prohibited the administration from replacing Usadf leadership. Leon will listen to arguments on Tuesday of government lawyers and lawyers that represent Brehm about whether the Trump administration can eliminate the members of the Board and appoint new.
Trump last month in a Executive order It was addressed to USADF and three other agencies for closing in an effort to comply with campaign promises to reduce the size of the federal government. The independent agency was created in 1980 by Congress and is controlled by members of the Board, which must be confirmed by the United States Senate.
A main question in the case is whether the Trump administration has the legal authority to eliminate the members of the Independent Board. The presidents are restricted to fire these members without cause, thanks to a decision of the Supreme Court of almost 90 years known as Humphrey executor, which has been a support for defenders in the Court against the shots of Trump’s administrations. The most recent decisions of the Supreme Court have expanded the expulsion power of the president and legal experts say that the conservative majority of the Superior Court may be inclined to cancel that precedent.
In a presentation on Monday, government lawyers claimed that the Trump administration eliminated the members of the USADF Board last month for emails of the White House. The USDAF challenged that account, saying that only a member of the Board, Brehm, received an elimination email.
The remaining members of the Board made the president of Brehm on March 3. The previous president of Usadf resigned before the agency was eliminated.
Lawyers for him Trump’s administration has argued That the USADF Board has done everything possible to avoid complying with the president’s clear directives “and that” the president must be able to appoint the interferential officials to fulfill their duty to enforce the laws. ”
The Congress in 2023 allocated $ 46 million to USADF to invest in relatively small agricultural projects and energy infrastructure projects among other economic development initiatives in 22 African countries. The agency uses about 50 people.
In the judicial presentations, Usadf describes Doge personnel that demand access to their systems, that the staff denied cite privacy and security requirements. They also said that Dege sent an email to Usadf staff last month announcing that Pete Marocco, the Usaid Administrator who has supervised his dismantling, would preside over the USADF Board.
Marocco and part of Doge staff have managed to close another independent agency, the Inter -American Foundation. On February 28, a White House official told the IAF staff that Marocco would preside over the agency’s board, according to a letter sent to Eddy Arriola Congress, president of the IAF Board.
The same day, Marocco held a Emergency Board Meeting Outside the IAF offices because he could not enter the building. In the notes admitted to the Federal Registry, Marocco said that The interim CEO was appointed himself and president of IAF, apparently fired the acting president.
Since then, IAF subsidies and contracts have been canceled and most of its 37 personnel members have been fired. In 2024, the IAF supervised almost $ 350 million in investments in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a little more than half of that from external funds, meaning of countries or private financiers.
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