Special Poll
A federal judge announced on Friday that he will temporarily halt the Trump administration’s plan to place thousands of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employees on leave. The move, which was set to take effect at midnight, has sparked legal challenges from unions representing government workers.
The unions have taken legal action to prevent the suspension of agency operations and to resume the distribution of foreign aid, which was recently frozen by President Trump. His administration has cited allegations of fraud and corruption as the reasoning behind the decision to effectively shut down USAID.
Judge Carl Nichols, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, stated that he would issue a formal ruling later on Friday but made it clear that a temporary pause would be put in place. However, he described the ruling as “limited, very limited” in scope.
“They should not put those 2,200 people on administrative leave tonight,” Nichols emphasized.
The American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees have argued in court filings that the Trump administration’s actions represent an “ongoing, illegal scheme to gut” USAID. They warned that agency employees would suffer immediate harm if the court did not intervene.
“This is not something the president can unilaterally do,” Karla Gilbride, an attorney representing the unions, told the judge during Friday’s hearing.
President Trump, along with key allies such as Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has taken aggressive steps to dismantle the agency. Over the weekend, USAID employees were locked out of internal systems and emails, office spaces were cleared out, and thousands of staff members were ordered to return to the U.S.
While the court’s temporary ruling slows down the administration’s plan, it remains unclear what the long-term outcome will be as the legal battle over USAID’s future continues.