The Trump administration is challenging efforts to make billionaire Elon Musk testify in a lawsuit accusing him of illegally ordering the dismantlement of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The Department of Justice has called on a federal judge to grant a “motion for a protective order” to block the depositions of Musk and two former senior USAID officials, according to court filings.
USAID was dismantled earlier this year as part of President Donald Trump’s DOGE-related plan to reduce the size of the federal government through eliminating agencies, mass layoffs and the cancellation of funds.
Oxfam says millions at risk without USAID
Oxfam America, a humanitarian aid group, joined others in a lawsuit earlier this year to challenge the shuttering of USAID.
“Despite widespread public support for U.S-funded foreign aid, the Trump administration has shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which funded the majority of U.S. humanitarian and development assistance worldwide to people in some of the worst crises,” Oxfam said earlier this month. “The effect of these cuts on people is dire: at least 23 million children stand to lose access to education, and as many as 95 million people would lose access to basic healthcare, potentially leading to more than 3 million preventable deaths per year.”
Oxfam said in April that the cuts to USAID were already proving deadly “for women, children and communities across the world.”
“People living through unthinkable circumstances have now been deprived of lifesaving food, water, and health and hygiene support,” Oxfam stated.
Oxfam received millions of dollars in grants annually via USAID, according to federal spending data.
Trump administration fights depositions
The Trump administration, meanwhile, argues that those who have sued the government and are now seeking the deposition of Musk and others have failed to show “exceptional circumstances,” which it says are required to overcome “longstanding limitations” on securing testimony from high-level executive officials.
Musk has now returned to his companies Tesla and SpaceX after leaving his position overseeing DOGE operations earlier this year. Despite his return to civilian life, the federal government has continued to defend him in legal cases where he was sued in his official role as a presidential advisor.
Ongoing lawsuit
USAID workers in the lawsuit accuse Musk of unconstitutionally wielding a high level of authority within the federal government, which is strictly reserved for Senate-confirmed officials. They also accuse Musk and others of violating the Constitution’s separation of powers standards by shuttering an agency established by Congress.
A federal judge in Maryland ruled in August that the case could move forward, denying the Trump administration’s motion for dismissal. Attorneys for current and former USAID workers involved in the suit have for months sought information, including documents and testimony from administration officials.
The DOJ has argued in court filings that Musk and the two former USAID officials, Peter Marocco and Jeremy Lewin, sought for depositions should not have to testify. The department argues that it intrudes “on White House activities and the president’s performance of constitutional duties, which triggers significant separation-of-power concerns.”
The Trump administration contends that despite Musk now working in a private capacity the standard for compelling testimony has not changed, and further claims that the plaintiffs have failed to “exhaust alternatives” to obtain the information through available channels.
DOJ’s previous defense of Musk
The DOJ has previously argued in court that Musk only advised Trump and was not given the power to make significant policy decisions. But in the ruling allowing the lawsuit to move forward against Musk and others, the Maryland federal judge allowed evidence presented by the plaintiffs that claims to show Musk taking responsibility for dismantling USAID, including a social media post in February in which he wrote, “We spent the week feeding USAID into the wood chipper.”
Trump administration resistance on disclosure of DOGE information
The White House has resisted other efforts to force the release of more information about DOGE. The Supreme Court blocked a lower court’s order this spring that would have required DOGE Administrator Amy Gleason to testify in a legal challenge over whether the entity should be considered an agency and thus must cooperate with public record requests. That legal case is still pending.
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