Wife of Federal Judge Who Threw a Wrench in Trump's Agenda Has a Curious Connection to USAID: Report

The spouse of a federal judge who halted President Donald Trump’s move to close government websites that promoted gender ideology founded an organization that received financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), an agency currently under scrutiny by the administration.

U.S. District Judge John Bates ruled on Tuesday that federal health agencies must reinstate pages about transgenderism that had been removed following a Trump executive order addressing “gender ideology extremism.”

He argued that the removal of these websites occurred without any publicly disclosed justification or an opportunity for appeal, which appeared to breach legal requirements, as reported by Politico.

“No backend remedy could ameliorate the inability to provide all required care during an appointment time to a patient who cannot return in the future,” Bates stated.

This decision comes amid pushback from left-leaning organizations and officials opposing Trump administration initiatives aimed at eliminating wasteful and fraudulent government programs.

Following the ruling, Shore News Network highlighted that Bates’ wife, Carol Rhees, had established a nonprofit organization called Hope for Children in Ethiopia.

The nonprofit has received financial assistance from USAID, one of the agencies being examined under the government’s efficiency review.

According to archived web pages reviewed by Shore News Network, Hope for Children “received hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grants” between 2013 and 2021.

One such page listed Rhees as the “Founder and President” of the organization.

Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency in its efforts to curb excessive spending within USAID, reacted strongly to this revelation.

“No kidding. Yet another corrupt judge,” Musk posted on X.

With this, the billionaire aligned himself with members of the Trump administration who have voiced frustration over federal court rulings that delay or block parts of their policies.

Musk further argued in response to the USAID connection that “there needs to be an immediate wave of judicial impeachments, not just one.”

However, following Musk’s remarks, Bates ruled in favor of the DOGE on Friday, granting the advisory service continued access to government records from certain federal agencies, as reported by Newsweek.

He determined that DOGE likely qualifies as a federal agency, allowing it to maintain its review of the data.

“On the record as it currently stands and with limited briefing on the issue, the case law defining agencies indicates that plaintiffs have not shown a substantial likelihood that [DOGE] is not an agency,” Bates wrote.

“If that is so, [DOGE] may detail its employees to other agencies consistent with the Economy Act,” he concluded.