DOGE’s USAID takeover likely violated Constitution, judge says

 

Tuesday, March 18 The Trump administration is working overtime to chip away at our democratic freedoms. Help support our pro-democracy news outlet as we strive to hold Trump accountable — become a premium member for $120/year and join us in the fight for a stronger, more transparent democracy. DOGE’s USAID takeover likely violated the Constitution Allowing Elon Musk to oversee the Trump administration’s attempted takeover of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) “likely violated the United States Constitution in multiple ways,” a federal judge in Maryland determined. Judge Theodore Chuang rebuked Musk and DOGE for violating Congress’s constitutional authority to appropriate funds and create or shut down federal agencies. Almost 25K federal workers reinstated, Trump administration says The Trump administration reported in new court filings that nearly 25,000 fired probationary federal employees have been reinstated following a judge's ruling on their terminations. The number includes nearly 1,700 employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs, over 3,200 at Department of Health and Human Services, and over 5,000 at the Department of Agriculture. Trump continues to demand judge impeachment President Donald Trump called for James Boasberg, the federal judge questioning why the administration failed to follow his order halting some deportations, to be impeached. In a rare move, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a statement rejecting Trump's impeachment threat against Boasberg. But can Trump impeach judges? The short answer: No. Only Congress can. Democracy Docket breaks down why here. New lawsuit challenges California mail-in ballot receipt deadline Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) sued California over its mail-in ballot receipt deadline. Issa is challenging a state law that permits mail-in ballots to be accepted up to seven days after Election Day if they were mailed by or on Election Day. Numerous other states have similar rules. Why are House Republicans ceding their power to Trump? Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said it’s part of the ethical collapse of the GOP. Watch the full Democracy Docket interview here. Hearing coming up tomorrow The Georgia Supreme Court will hear oral argument in lawsuits challenging restrictive election rules that the State Election Board tried to implement before the 2024 election.