Updated Feb 7, 2025 - Politics & Policy

Trump's plan to put USAID workers on leave temporarily blocked by judge

Sareen Habeshian

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 03: Protestors gather outside of USAID headquarters on February 03, 2025 in Washington, DC. Elon Musk, tech billionaire and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), said in a social media post that he and U.S. President Donald Trump will shut down the foreign — Protestors gather outside of USAID headquarters on Feb. 3 in Washington, DC. Photo: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from putting some 2,200 employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on administrative leave.

The big picture: The ruling from U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, came hours before the order to place all direct hires on paid leave globally, with some exceptions, was set to take effect at midnight.

Driving the news: The judge's order is in response to a lawsuit filed Thursday by unions representing federal workers and Foreign Service Officers.

The unions filed a motion for a temporary restraining order earlier Friday.

Context: The lawsuit filed in D.C. federal court named as defendants President Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was recently appointed as USAID's acting administrator.

The suit alleges their actions have caused a humanitarian catastrophe.
It also argues that Trump's "actions to dissolve USAID exceed presidential authority" and "only Congress may act to dissolve it or merge it with the Department of State."
It's cost "thousands of American jobs," has "imperiled U.S. national security interests" and deaths are "inevitable" if the administration's action's are not halted, per the suit.

Editor's note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

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Trump's plan to put USAID workers on leave temporarily blocked by judge

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