A judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s plan to place 2,200 U.S. Agency for International Development employees on paid leave just hours before it was set to occur.
USAID, the world’s largest aid donor with most of its budget directed toward global health programs and two-thirds of its 10,000 employees stationed overseas, had already placed some staff on administrative leave, with 2,200 more scheduled to join them.
However, a temporary restraining order issued by Judge Carl Nichols, in response to a lawsuit by two unions, halts these actions until February 14.
“All USAID employees currently on administrative leave shall be reinstated until that date, and shall be given complete access to email, payment, and security notification systems until that date, and no additional employees shall be placed on administrative leave before that date,” Nichols writes.
The move follows Trump’s push to merge USAID with the U.S. Department of State as part of his “America First” agenda, which critics argue would significantly impact global humanitarian programs, BBC writes.
President Trump’s administration has been pushing to dismantle USAID, arguing that its overseas spending is not a valuable use of taxpayer money.
The proposed restructuring would leave just 611 employees out of USAID’s 10,000-strong workforce, with the rest on leave, BBC adds.
Prior to the court ruling, around 500 workers had already been put on administrative leave, and another 2,200 were set to be furloughed.
The unions, filing the lawsuit, argued that the government’s actions violated the U.S. Constitution and caused harm to the workers, with Nichols agreeing that the workers would suffer “irreparable harm” if the court did not intervene.
The court order also reinstates the 500 employees who had been placed on leave, ensuring they regain access to email, payments, and security systems.
The judge noted that the impact of administrative leave for employees in conflict zones like Syria differs significantly from those in the U.S.
The restraining order is set to last until February 14, and a hearing will take place to assess the possibility of a longer-term pause.
“Administrative leave in Syria is not the same as administrative leave in Bethesda: simply being paid cannot change that fact,” the Judge writes.
The Trump administration is targeting various federal agencies, including USAID, in efforts to reduce U.S. spending.
To help cut the budget, Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
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