US African Development Foundation (USADF) President Ward Brehm attempted to acquire the agency a day ago on Thursday the government's Department of Efficiency (DOGE).
Brem asked Thursday. Litigationfiled by the liberal legal body, Democracy Forward, for a preliminary and permanent injunction to prohibit Doge workers from accessing the institutional building and removing Brehm as the head of the ADF.
Doge staff, led by Tech Mogul Elon Musk, tried to enter the building on Wednesday but were unable to. On Thursday, Doge workers were able to access the USADF building along with Peter Marocco, the representative director of the United States International Aid Agency (USAID).
Like USAID, which provides assistance to developing countries around the world, the USADF is an independent government agency formed in 1980 by grassroots groups and small businesses supporting the marginalized population and communities of Africa.
Trump was about to dismantle USAID in his first weeks of office, and events on Wednesday appeared to show intentions to do the same with the USADF.
“Whether it is President Marrocco, President Trump, GAO or the remaining defendants, it is illegal to have Breme threatened from his position as president of the USADF. The plaintiff said in the lawsuit that “the defendant is not a member of the USADF board, and only the board has the authority to remove Breme from his position,” adding that “it is allegedly been appointed by Marrocco.”
The USADF said in a statement it does not believe that Marrocco and Doge officials are permitted to represent it.
“The US African Development Foundation (USADF) office was entered today by others, including Peter Marrocco, who do not believe they are permitted to represent the agency. The USADF is fully compliant with legal obligations.”
“We follow the law in the hopes that our staff will be treated with dignity and respect,” the agency said.
Brehm argued in the suit that Doge's attempts violated the appointment clause and the African Development Foundation Act.
“Without this court's immediate intervention, the defendants will continue their tactics and will remain strong in the USADF, even if they have a legally constituted board and president, and the damage they inflict will be irreparable,” the plaintiff said in the 26-page lawsuit.
“The court should declare these actions hyperbiased and ban the defendants entirely and forever from ignoring the law in their attempts to remove plaintiff Brehm and close the USADF,” they added.
On Wednesday, five Doge workers and Morocco tried to enter the USADF headquarters. They also threatened to file a lawsuit against security guards there, telling the building's real estate manager that they could call Secret Service and the US ex if they were not granted access to the office, Democracy Forward said in the lawsuit Thursday.
The group was there for nearly an hour Wednesday and left just before 1pm local time, USADF told Hill.
The agency says it has paid more than $141 million in grants to more than 1,050 community businesses in Africa over five years between 2019 and 2023. Brem said the possibility of agency shutdowns creates a “rip-over effects” that feels “around the African continent and across the US.”
The USADF invested a lot in 2024, giving 114 grants to 16.56 million to strengthen agriculture, $7.37 million to 34 grants to expand off-grid energy access, and $419 million to expand 94 grants to promote youth and female entrepreneurs, the plaintiffs said in the lawsuit.
“Our work is investing in over 1,000 Africa-owned businesses, entrepreneurs and organizations, increasing economic stability in vulnerable regions,” Brehm said in a statement Thursday. “It has not only improved the lives of millions of people in Africa, but also contributed to a safer and safer world.”
President Trump signed the executive order on February 19th, calling for the end of “ununified components and functions” of the USADF, the American American Foundation and the US Peace and Presidio Trust Institute. The order is part of the administration's push to reduce the size and scope of the federal government and reduce spending.
The directive directed the agency to submit a report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within two weeks.
Oka reached out to the Doge spokesman for comment.
