Judge declines to block DOGE from taking over African development agency

A federal judge on Tuesday declined to block the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from taking over the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF).

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon declined a motion attempting to keep the USADF’s chair, Ward Brehm, in his job and prevent Peter Marocco, the deputy acting head of the U.S. Agency for International Aid (USAID), from taking control of the foundation.

Leon said Brehm didn’t show he would suffer irreparable harm in the case of his motion not being granted, which is required to get a temporary restraining order. 

“The heart of the problem is that Brehm has not identified any cognizable irreparable harm to himself as opposed to potential harm to the agency and its partners,” Leon wrote in the Tuesday filing.

“At the outset, his loss of employment in and of itself is not irreparable harm. Should he eventually succeed on the merits, the Court could remedy any harm by reinstating him to his position and ordering back pay,” he added.

Leon declined the plaintiffs’ requests that he block the appointment of Marocco “or any other person” to replace Brehm or to serve on the USADF board of directors as an acting member. They had also asked he require Senate confirmation for board members, and for the USADF president to be appointed “by a lawfully-constituted” board.

But Leon questioned whether President Trump’s effort to install Marocco in Brehm’s post exceeded his authority.

The USADF is an independent government agency formed in 1980 to back grassroots groups and small enterprises that help marginalized populations and communities in Africa.

Last week, DOGE staffers were shut out of USADF headquarters in Washington, D.C. Marocco and DOGE employees tried to get into the office but could not “access it,” according to the USADF. DOGE workers along with Marocco were able to access the building the following day.

In a letter to a DOGE staffer, Brehm said he had “specifically instructed the staff of USADF to adhere to our rules and procedure of not allowing any meetings of this type without my presence.”

The Hill has reached out to a spokesperson for DOGE, the White House, the State Department, the Justice Department, the General Services Administration and a Brehm attorney for comment.