The lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s decision was dismissed by a federal judge. The lawsuit challenged the planned removal of all members of the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) board. Judge Richard Leon released a ruling that effectively vindicated Trump for all he did. On February 19, 2020, he unexpectedly removed board members. That suit, initiated by Ward Brehm, claimed that the president’s actions were illegal.
So, what’s this USADF all about, anyway? Created in 1980 as an independent federal agency, the USADF intends to foster economic development across the African continent. Like the U.S. Federal Reserve, its board members need confirmation by the U.S. Senate, lending their positions a specific political salience. Congressional Research Service posed impacts of Trump’s executive order on USADF. Rebuilding the organization staff cuts and the loss of nearly all of the organization’s grant funding followed.
In the executive order, Trump committed to abolishing the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) to its bare bones legal existence. He zeroed out the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Inter-American Foundation, and the Presidio Trust for good measure. This decision sent shockwaves among all those committed to do international development well, from the practitioners to the policymakers.
In 2023, Congress allocated $46 million to USADF to foster small agricultural and energy infrastructure projects across 22 African countries. The foundation’s primary focus is on building Africa’s small business ecosystem. Its operational stability is extremely important for promoting the local economic development that’s so critical to its community.
Two days later—on March 6—Brehm filed his lawsuit. The removal, he argues, should not have happened because he and the other three board members never received actual notice of their removal. In March, this new slate of board members met and installed Brehm as their president. Together, their actions represented a clear attempt to establish continuity in opposition to the new executive order.
Judge Leon’s ruling upholding the legality of the removal of all of the board members has deepened that concern. He claimed that the administration’s decisions on where to allocate funding and staffing were legal too. In the wake of this decision, Pete Marocco was installed as USADF’s new chairman of the board by the Trump administration.
Brehm’s attorney, Bradley Girard, expressed disappointment with Judge Leon’s ruling. As Pat was the first to point out, there’s a lot of fight left. We’re challenging Marocco’s appointment in a third, related case.
“But in our parallel case, Rural Development Innovations v. Marocco, a grantee and two USADF employees have also challenged Marocco’s unlawful appointment,” – Bradley Girard
Despite the setbacks in Brehm’s lawsuit, USADF staffers and a consulting firm based in Zambia continue to contest the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the agency’s capacity. As USADF navigates this tumultuous political landscape, its future role in supporting African economic development remains uncertain.
