Judge Blocks Trumps Plan to Put USAID Workers on Leave
Judge Blocks Trumps Plan to Put USAID Workers on Leave
A judge has issued a temporary block against President Donald Trump’s plan to place 2,200 employees of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on paid leave, just hours before it was set to occur.
In reaction to a last-minute lawsuit filed by two unions attempting to save the agency, Judge Carl Nichols issued a “limited” temporary restraining order.
The order will be effective for a week, lasting until 14 February at midnight.
On Saturday, a different federal judge prevented Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) from obtaining Treasury Department records containing the personal financial information of millions of Americans, according to US media.
Trump has contended that the overseas aid agency USAID is not a worthwhile investment of taxpayer funds and has expressed a desire to dismantle it. Nearly all of the agency’s 10,000 employees will be put on leave, with the exception of 611 workers, according to his plan.
Approximately 500 employees had already been placed on administrative leave, with an additional 2,200 set to join them starting at midnight on Friday (05:00 GMT).
However, the lawsuit filed on Friday just before the deadline claimed that the government was infringing upon the US Constitution and that this was causing harm to the workers.
Judge Nichols aligned with the unions, stating that without court intervention, they would face “irreparable harm,” while the government would experience “zero harm.”
The order reinstates the 500 staff members who were already placed on administrative leave.
At a hearing on Wednesday, the judge will also evaluate a request for a longer-term pause.
The court order does not clarify the fate of the agency’s remaining staff.
When the ruling was announced, officials were in the process of taking down and concealing USAID signage at the organization’s headquarters located in Washington DC.The agency’s website is also not accessible, redirecting users only to a landing page regarding the staff reductions.
USAID, the largest aid donor globally, allocates a significant portion of its budget to health programs worldwide. Of its 10,000 employees, two-thirds are based internationally.
His administration is aiming at this agency, among others, as part of its efforts to reduce federal spending in the US.
