American Diplomacy in Crisis: A Time to Support Litigation and Employee Unions, by Bruce Gregory
The list of cruel and reckless actions taken in recent weeks against American diplomacy, its practitioners and their families, and countless others around the world is long and growing.The dismantling of USAID. The devastating impact on aid recipients. Chaotic consequences for employees and contractors. The deluge of lies and disinformation about the Agency and its people. Sweeping cuts to Congressionally-approved federal spending. Freezes on grants and other spending obligations. DOGE staffers targeting sensitive data bases. Vague and legally dubious deferred employee resignation guidelines. And much more.
We can anticipate more challenges in the implementation of Schedule F, cancelation of grants, arbitrary treatment of employees, visa regulations, and US government media.
Members of the Public Diplomacy Council of America (PDCA) and its partner nonprofit organizations are deeply concerned.
The times call for transparency, stories that resonate with grassroots audiences, and persuasive reasoning. Repeated phone calls to lawmakers’ district offices. Opinion columns and creative uses of social media. Participation in local community public forums. Street protests. Leveraging the organizing power of civil society groups. Tools and methods public diplomacy practitioners know well.
Importantly, it's also a time to support the litigation and other measures implemented by the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), and their partners in the public interest law community.
On February 6, AFSA and AFGE filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump, USAID, and the Departments of State and Treasury alleging “unconstitutional and illegal” actions in the dismantling of USAID. The lawsuit was brought pro bono by Public Citizen Litigation Group and Democracy Forward.
On February 7, US District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols granted a limited temporary restraining order denying decisions to place USAID employees on leave and to recall overseas employees in 30 days. Three days later the parties filed an emergency motion citing non-compliance with the order. A separate lawsuit also has been filed by USAID grantees, contractors, and the American Bar Association. At this writing, decisions on these cases are pending.
Members of PDCA and its partner organizations can support this litigation and related employee union measures through donations to Public Citizen Foundation, Democracy Forward Foundation, and AFSA’s Legal Defense Fund.
The websites of Public Citizen and Democracy Forward are not set up to earmark donations. However, donors can mail checks specifying their contributions are in support of the Litigation Group’s USAID lawsuit to the Public Citizen Foundation: 1600 20th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009. Similarly, checks can be sent to Democracy Forward Foundation: 1200 17th Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036. Donations to both Foundations are tax deductible.
AFSA’s Legal Defense Fund provides financial assistance to its members in cases “of significant institutional importance to the Foreign Service.” Donations are not tax deductible.
Fifty years ago, AFSA and AFGE were rivals competing for representation rights in the foreign affairs agencies. Even then, however, they shared emerging common ground on the role of unions, the fight for employee due process, a legislated Foreign Service Grievance Board, and other issues.
Today they are partnering in using legal and regulatory processes in an unprecedented assault on American diplomacy’s practitioners and institutions. They deserve our strong support.
Bruce Gregory is an Affiliate Scholar at George Washington University’s Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication and the author of American Diplomacy’s Public Dimension: Practitioners as Change Agents in Foreign Relations (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024).