The president does not have the power to abolish a department or a federal agency created by the congress, according to legal experts.
The American Agency for International Development, which Elon Musk said that he and Trump were in the process of closing, were first created by a decree in 1961 and later by a Congress of the Act adopted in 1998.
A more recent law, the law on the credits of state and abroad operations for financial year 2024, which was incorporated into a bill on the expenses of the congress, requires that executive power informs and consults With the congress on any reorganization or reduction of the reduction of the proposed agency.
Richard Briffault, professor at the Columbia Law School, said that his “Best reading of the law is that, although the president can lead a greater coordination of the USAID with the State Department and perhaps even transfer some functions, he cannot unilaterally abolish the agency by decree. “”
“It was established by an act of the Congress and can only be eliminated by an act of Congress,” he said.
At this stage, the letter from the Secretary of State Marco Rubio to the Senators yesterday asking him to consult them on the future of the USAID specifically referred to the law of credits of 2024, which looked like “at least a wink To the rule of law, “said Tess Bridgeman, chief co-editor of Just Security, who worked as deputy legal advisor to the National Security Council under the Obama administration.
Rubio, who was appointed by Trump as an actual administrator of the USAID, said in his letter to the legislators that certain missions of the USAID could be transferred to the State Department and that the activities of the remaining agency “Abolis compliant with the applicable law “.
As Rubio was confirmed by the Senate, the administration could argue that it seeks a legal path to restructure the agency and consult as required by the legislators, said aid from the congress.
But the recent actions of the Trump administration, in particular locking employees outside the headquarters, interrupting the programs of the USAID financed by the congress and cutting access to the staff, as well as declarations of Elon Musk, sent a message Different: that he may intend to dismantle the agency absolutely.
“Does the administration claim to transfer all the functions of USAID to the State Department, or are they simply carried out under a new acting administrator?” Asked Bridgeman. “We do not know the answer to this question. It is therefore really difficult to say whether the functions assigned to USAID by status have been preserved. »»
Those who wish to raise constitutional complaints against efforts to abolish the agency should establish a legal status to be continued. If the agency was dissolved squarely, organizations that receive funding from the USAID could take place to challenge this decision as a “injured party”, according to Bridgeman.
USAID employees also potentially have a legal appeal if they are dismissed from their work in a way that violates the federal laws governing civil servants.