US African Development Foundation head sues DOGE over takeover attempt

U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) President Ward Brehm sued the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on Thursday over its attempted takeover of the agency a day earlier.

Brehm asked in the Thursday lawsuit, which was filed by Democracy Forward, a liberal-leaning legal group, for a preliminary and permanent injunction to bar DOGE workers from accessing the agency’s building and removing Brehm as the USADF’s head.

Staffers from DOGE, which is led by tech mogul Elon Musk, sought to enter the building Wednesday but were not able to get in. On Thursday, DOGE workers along with Peter Marocco, the acting deputy head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), were able to access USADF’s building.

Like USAID, which provides aid to developing countries around the world, USADF is an independent government agency that was formed in 1980 to back grassroots groups and small enterprises that help marginalized populations and communities in Africa.

President Trump in his first weeks in office sought to dismantle USAID, and the events on Wednesday appeared to signal an intention to do the same at the USADF.

“The threatened termination of Brehm from his position as President of USADF, whether by Marocco, President Trump, Director Gao, or any of the remaining Defendants, is unlawful. None of the Defendants is lawfully a member of the Board of USADF, and only the Board has the authority to remove Brehm from his position,” the plaintiffs said in the lawsuit, adding the “purported termination of Brehm and the purported appointment of Marocco are ultra vires and are clear violations of USADF’s organic statute.”

The USADF in a statement also said it did not believe Marocco or DOGE officials were authorized to represent it.

"The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) offices were entered today by Mr. Peter Marocco and others who we do not believe are authorized to represent the agency. USADF is fully complying with its statutory obligations,” USADF told The Hill in an emailed statement.

“We will follow the law with the expectation that our staff will be treated with dignity and respect,” the agency said.

Brehm alleged in the suit that DOGE’s attempts violate the Appointments Clause and African Development Foundation Act.

“Without this Court’s immediate intervention, Defendants will continue their tactics and strongarm their way into USADF, no matter that USADF has a legally constituted Board and President. And within days, the damage that they do will be irreparable,” the plaintiffs said in the 26-page lawsuit.

“The Court should declare these actions ultra vires and preliminarily and permanently enjoin Defendants from outright ignoring the law in their attempts to remove Plaintiff Brehm and shut down USADF,” they added.

On Wednesday, five DOGE workers and Marocco tried to enter the USADF’s headquarters. They also threatened to file a suit against a security guard there and told the building’s property manager that they could call up the Secret Service and U.S. Marshals if they were not granted access to the office, Democracy Forward said in the Thursday lawsuit.

The group was there for nearly an hour Wednesday and left just before 1 p.m. local time, USADF told The Hill.

The agency has said that in a five-year period, between 2019 and 2023, it dished out more than $141 million in grants to more than 1,050 community enterprises in Africa. Brehm said the potential shutdown of the agency will cause “ripple effects” that will be felt “across the African continent and in the United States.”

The USADF made a bevy of investments during fiscal 2024, giving out $16.56 million across 114 grants to bolster agriculture, $7.37 million across 34 grants to expand off-grid energy access and $4.19 million across 94 grants to advance youth and women entrepreneurship, plaintiffs said in the lawsuit.

“Our work boosts economic stability in fragile regions, with investments in more than 1,000 African-owned and led businesses, entrepreneurs, and organizations,” Brehm said in a statement Thursday. “Not only have we improved the lives of millions of people in Africa, we’ve contributed to a safer and more secure world.”

Trump signed an executive order Feb. 19 that called for the termination of “non-statutory components and functions” of the USADF, the Inter-American Foundation, the U.S. Institute of Peace and Presidio Trust. The order is part of the administration’s push to slash the size and scope of the federal government and cut down on spending.

The directive instructed agencies to file reports within two weeks to the Office of Management and Budget “confirming compliance with this order and stating whether the governmental entity, or any components or functions thereof, are statutorily required and to what extent.”

The Hill has reached out to DOGE’s spokesperson for comment.

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