Judge clears Trump administration to pull USAID employees from roles

• U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols referred the challenge to offices that oversee federal employment labor laws.

Zoom in: The unions' and federal government's claims were "apples and oranges" comparisons, he wrote.

• The unions claimed that the Trump administration's actions violated the Constitution by dissolving an agency without congressional approval, but the judge said this was a labor dispute because the agency is "still standing."

Between the lines: Separately, another federal judge on Thursday said he lacked the jurisdiction to rule on a mass layoff case, referring it to the Federal Labor Relations Authority.

What's next: USAID employees who choose to return to the U.S. must do so within 30 days, if they want their travel coordinated and covered by the federal government.

• Beyond that, employees who stay abroad will not receive compensation.

Catch up quick: Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has called the agency corrupt and wasteful, while shuttering it.

• Unions representing federal workers and Foreign Service Officers have said the federal government action's have caused a humanitarian crisis.

Go deeper: What is USAID, the federal agency the Trump admin is gutting