A federal appeals court on Tuesday temporarily paused a sweeping ruling that had dealt a major blow to the Department of Government Efficiency, which a lower court found had likely acted unconstitutionally in attempting to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an administrative stay on U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang’s order, which required USAID to restore access to email and systems for employees placed on leave by DOGE, the government spending hatchet spearheaded by Elon Musk. The temporary hold lasts through Thursday, giving the court time to consider next steps, according to the appeals court’s brief order.
Additional filings from the parties could be submitted before the end of the day Thursday, a source familiar with the matter told the Washington Examiner, though the next steps for the case are not immediately clear.
Chuang, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, dealt a major setback on March 18 to DOGE and Musk, who have faced growing scrutiny for acting without authority to shut down federal agencies. In a 68-page opinion, the judge said the shutdown of USAID violated the Constitution’s appointments clause and separation of powers, noting that Congress alone holds the power to abolish agencies.
Chuang ordered that DOGE and Musk be barred from taking further actions affecting USAID without express legal authority from a duly appointed official.
Norm Eisen, the liberal lawyer whose legal group brought the case, hailed the ruling last week as a landmark moment: “This case is a milestone in pushing back on Musk and DOGE’s illegality.”
OBAMA-APPOINTED JUDGE RULES USAID SHUTDOWN LIKELY UNLAWFUL
USAID, which DOGE targeted shortly after President Donald Trump’s return to office, has seen its systems deactivated, staff sidelined, and headquarters occupied. The administration is expected to appeal Chuang’s decision in full.
The appellate court’s temporary stay blocks Chuang’s previous ruling against the Trump administration, at least until Thursday.
The decision also temporarily halts Chuang’s subsequent order that blocked Jeremy Lewin, a 28-year-old Harvard Law School grad, from joining USAID as its chief operating officer and deputy administrator for policy and programming. The Justice Department previously argued the judge’s order should not apply to Lewin, who was appointed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to be responsible for “most of the day-to-day work at USAID,” according to government court filings.