A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Trump’s appointment of a new head of the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF), indefinitely halting his directives to massively slash the agency’s workforce and grant funding.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon found that Trump's installation of Peter Marocco as USADF's acting board chair was likely unconstitutional, ruling he needed to face Senate confirmation for it to be valid.

"While defendants argue that the President has inherent Article II power to appoint acting principal officers, there is little hope for defendants that this argument will win the day,” Leon wrote in his 16-page ruling.

“The Court therefore finds that plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits........

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