Washington D.C., USA – A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from placing 2,200 workers at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on paid leave, just hours before it was due to take effect.
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Judge Carl Nichols issued a “limited” temporary restraining order in response to a last-minute lawsuit filed by two unions, the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees, aiming to save the agency.
Temporary restraining order
The order will remain in place for a week, until 14 February at midnight. Trump has argued that USAID is not a valuable use of taxpayer money and aims to dismantle the agency, leaving only 611 of its nearly 10,000 employees in place.
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The judge’s order also reinstates the 500 staff already placed on administrative leave and blocks any additional employees from being placed on leave before the specified date.
Judge Nichols sided with the unions, noting that the workers would suffer “irreparable harm” without intervention, while the government would face “zero harm.”
Legal battle and agency future
The emergency petition argued that Trump’s actions violated the US Constitution and federal law, as dismantling the agency requires congressional authorization.
Brett Shumate, representing the Trump administration, claimed there was corruption and fraud at USAID.
Following Trump’s executive order halting foreign assistance funds on 20 January, a stop work order was issued at USAID, affecting health and emergency programmes in 120 countries. Former USAID chief Samantha Power criticised the move, calling it a costly foreign policy blunder.
The court will consider a request for a longer-term pause at a hearing on Wednesday.