A legal attempt to challenge former President Donald Trump’s decision to restructure a U.S. federal agency aimed at supporting small businesses in Africa has been dismissed by a federal judge. The case was brought before U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who ruled in favor of Trump’s actions on Tuesday. The decision follows an earlier ruling in March where Judge Leon affirmed the legality of Trump’s move to realign resources and staff away from the congressionally established U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF), provided that the agency remained operational at the baseline legal requirement.
The USADF was originally instituted as an independent body in 1980, with its board composition requiring Senate confirmation. In 2023, Congress assigned a budget of $46 million for the foundation. This funding was intended to support economic development through projects focused on agriculture and energy infrastructure across 22 African nations.
On February 19, Trump signed an executive order to reduce the operational scale of USADF, along with the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Inter-American Foundation, and the Presidio Trust, to the minimum extent dictated by law. At the time, five out of seven board positions were filled. Subsequent to this order, a communication lapse ensued when a staff member notified Ward Brehm of his dismissal, and emails were incorrectly dispatched to the remaining board members’ wrong addresses, thereby leaving them uninformed of their termination.
Believing they were still in office due to the lack of formal notification, the four membership-holding board individuals convened in March. They proceeded to nominate Brehm to lead the board. However, unbeknownst to them, Trump had already designated Pete Marocco as the new chairman, assuming him to be the sole board member. This led to Brehm initiating a legal challenge on March 6, contending for leadership.
Judge Leon clarified that the inadvertent non-receipt of emails did not alter the reality that the four board members were lawfully dismissed in February, making them ineligible to appoint Brehm as the leader. Brehm’s legal representative did not issue an immediate response regarding the dismissal of their lawsuit.
There is another ongoing lawsuit concerning the USADF’s downsizing, which remains under consideration by Judge Leon. This separate legal contestation involves two USADF staff members along with a Zambia-based consulting firm that collaborates closely with the agency. They argue that the Trump administration’s drastic agency reduction improperly encroaches on Congressional authority. Additionally, they contest Marocco’s appointment, arguing it was unlawful as he was not Senate-confirmed, which they claim is a requisite.
Judge Leon’s decision regarding Brehm’s case did not address the legality of Marocco’s installation as board chair on a temporary basis.