WASHINGTON — Federal workers associations filed suit late Thursday asking a federal court to stop the Trump administration’s “effective dismantling” of the lead U.S. aid agency.

The lawsuit by the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees comes as the new Trump administration and ally Elon Musk are targeting the U.S. Agency for International Development for eradication, freezing its funds and placing almost all of its workers on leave or furlough.

The lawsuit says President Donald Trump lacks the authority to shut down an agency enshrined in congressional legislation. It asks the federal court in Washington to compel the reopening of USAID’s buildings, return its staffers to work and restore funding.