A federal judge has intervened to prevent the Trump administration from placing over 2,000 employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on paid leave, marking a setback for the president’s attempts to reduce the U.S. foreign aid system in alignment with his “America First” policy.
U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols announced that he would issue a temporary restraining order following a rapid hearing regarding a lawsuit filed Thursday by employee organizations contesting the administration’s authority to close down the agency. He indicated he was still considering whether to require the government to reverse its decision to put an additional 500 USAID employees on paid leave. This ruling came just a day after the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees submitted a filing urging the court to declare unlawful what they described as “a series of unconstitutional and illegal actions taken by President Donald Trump and his administration that have systematically dismantled” USAID without congressional authorization. The lawsuit represents the first legal challenge against the efforts of Trump and his allies, including billionaire Elon Musk and his U.S. DOGE Service, or Department of Government Efficiency, which are targeting U.S. foreign aid programs and USAID personnel as part of their initiative to reform the federal government. These initiatives have included orders that freeze a wide range of foreign aid programs and result in the dismissal, furloughing, or leave of most USAID staff at its headquarters in Washington and overseas. In a social media post on Friday morning, Trump claimed without evidence that a significant portion of USAID’s funding had been misappropriated. “THE CORRUPTION IS AT LEVELS RARELY SEEN BEFORE,” he stated. “CLOSE IT DOWN!” The lawsuit is among numerous legal challenges launched by Trump opponents in recent days in an effort to slow or stop the administration's extensive actions, which include attempts to reduce the administrative state, limit spending, and eliminate diversity programs. Nichols, who was appointed by Trump in 2019, stated he would provide a written explanation for his decision later on Friday and warned that his injunction would be temporary while both parties clarify their complex but rapidly outlined arguments. However, after a 90-minute hearing, he noted that the plaintiffs demonstrated they could experience “irreparable harms” to their families, finances, and safety abroad, with “sufficient likelihood of success on the merits.” Nichols also remarked that there would be “essentially zero harm to the government” from a brief pause. This ruling is part of a series of decisions by federal judges—many appointed by Republican presidents—pushing back against aspects of Trump's aggressive agenda. Earlier on Friday, U.S. District Judge John D. Bates of Washington, appointed by George W. Bush, was deliberating whether to temporarily prevent DOGE from accessing data on millions of Americans at the Labor Department, expressing doubts about Musk’s inexperienced team’s understanding of confidentiality requirements. On Thursday, Seattle federal judge John C. Coughenour, a Reagan appointee, became the second judge to block Trump’s executive order aimed at limiting birthright citizenship, stating that the president was violating the Constitution for “political or personal gain.” In their Thursday filing regarding the USAID case, the plaintiffs argued that Trump’s actions “have generated a global humanitarian crisis by abruptly halting the crucial work of USAID employees, grantees, and contractors. They have cost thousands of American jobs and jeopardized U.S. national security interests.” Outside USAID’s headquarters near the White House on Friday, employees removed the agency's name from a building sign and took down its flag.
The ruling seems to postpone a strategy by USAID, which was announced on its website earlier this week, to place all global "direct hire" personnel—approximately 2,200 employees, predominantly civil service and Foreign Service workers—on administrative leave at midnight Washington time on Friday, with exceptions for specifically designated individuals. It remains unclear how this directive will impact the agency’s thousands of locally hired staff across its missions and programs globally. Neither the White House nor USAID responded immediately to requests for comments. The administration's actions threaten the United States' longstanding position as the largest global provider of foreign assistance, which funds initiatives ranging from food aid for malnourished children to vaccine distribution and the promotion of democracy. Foreign aid constitutes about 1 percent of the federal budget. The implementation of the orders affecting USAID has been marked by reversals, minimal information, and widespread confusion. Although Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a broad exemption for humanitarian programs shortly after the initial order to freeze most assistance programs, aid organizations report that many of these programs have not been able to resume due to the lack of necessary guidance from USAID and because the agency’s payment system is still offline. Earlier this week, USAID informed overseas employees that they would need to shorten their assignments and return to the United States within 30 days in order to qualify for government-funded relocation. This directive caused significant confusion among employees who were uncertain whether they could obtain waivers allowing their children to complete the school year or if they would receive help with their relocation back to the U.S. At the beginning of Friday’s hearing, Brett Shumate, acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s civil division, announced that by the end of the day, 2,200 USAID employees would be placed on paid leave. He noted that 500 had already been placed on administrative leave, but that 600—approximately double the number indicated in a plan circulated on Thursday—would remain on duty. “The president has the discretion to exercise” his constitutional authority over hiring and firing within the executive branch, and employees have standard avenues for seeking remedies afterward, Shumate stated. “If every employee placed on administrative leave could come into court, the government couldn’t operate.” Plaintiffs’ attorney Karla Gilbride argued that these actions represent a “cascade” of irreparable harm to employees caused by the agency's shutdown. Workers would lose access to communication systems vital for safety in hazardous overseas environments; payment systems would be closed; and employees themselves might face liability for unpaid funding obligations, along with immediate threats to their families' stability and health. “The president does not have the authority to do this,” she asserted. USAID “is an independent agency established by Congress, and any reorganization must follow the appropriate congressional process.”