And we now add a new one -- on our watch-list: Tangerine and Marco Rubio have been sued -- and a motion for a TRO is pending, in DC federal court, because these goofs are directly violating a Congressional Appropriations Act, in trying to close USAID without the required very public hearings and showings mandated by the Congress.
The lot of them are. . . snot nosed lil' hooligans. And ignorant ones, at that. Here's the latest memo of law explaining the violations, and an order (below)-- in DC:
. . .The 2024 Appropriations Act explicitly restricted the authority to reorganize USAID, providing that “funds appropriated by this Act, prior Acts making appropriations for the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs, or any other Act may not be used to implement a reorganization, redesign, or other plan. . . by the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development, or any other Federal department, agency, or organization funded by this Act without prior consultation by the head of such department, agency, or organization with the appropriate congressional committees. . . .”
The Act also specified that no funds shall be available for obligation to “suspend or eliminate a program, project, or activity,” “close, suspend, open, or reopen a mission or post,” or “create, close, reorganize, downsize, or rename bureaus, centers, or offices” unless “previously justified to the Committees on Appropriations or such Committees are notified 15 days in advance of such obligation. . . .”
This past week, the onslaught on USAID has continued. Elon Musk and members of the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) reportedly demanded access to classified USAID systems without requisite security clearances; USAID officials who attempted to block them were placed on administrative leave. Musk posted on February 3 that he spent the previous weekend “feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” and that same day, USAID headquarters shut down. More than 1,000 employees -- including some in war zones -- were locked out of their computer accounts and work systems necessary for monitoring issues critical to safety domestically and abroad. The usaid.gov website now indicates that “all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally” by Friday, February 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm. . . .
Without agency employees and partners to implement USAID's mission, or even to execute the limited waivers, the humanitarian consequences have been catastrophic.
Medical clinics have stopped distributing HIV medication in South Africa, as well as drugs used to stop hemorrhages in pregnant women and treat life-threatening diarrhea in toddlers in Zambia. Soup kitchens that feed nearly a million people in famine-stricken Khartoum were shut down. Humanitarian operations at refugee camps in Syria ceased operations, leaving thousands vulnerable to instability and violence at the hands of ISIS. . . .
[We seek a TRO.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MINUTE ORDER
The parties are hereby ORDERED to appear for an in-person hearing on the [9] Motion for Temporary Restraining Order on February 7, 2025 at 3:00 PM in Courtroom 17.
Plaintiffs shall notify counsel for defendants of the contents of this Minute Order and the time and place of the hearing.
So ORDERED by Judge Carl J. Nichols on 2/7/25. . . .
Now we wait to hear how the able DC District Court Judge rules, but he made some very narrow rulings, three years ago -- about whether and how, the J6 indictees might be prosecuted. Still -- this provision of law is clear, and there is no dispute that Tangerine 2.0 is violating the Act of Congress, when it granted these funds. No consultation with Congressional Committees, by public hearings, has even been scheduled. Full stop.
नमस्ते
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