A magistrate has temporarily halted President Donald Trump’s initiative to place 2,200 personnel of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on compensated leave, just hours before its implementation.
Judge Carl Nichols stated he would provide a “highly restricted” temporary injunction following a lawsuit filed by labor unions, contesting the scheme to place thousands of workers on leave from midnight on Friday.
USAID, the primary overseas development branch of the US government, has a workforce of approximately 10,000 individuals, two-thirds of whom operate abroad. The status of the remaining employees regarding their roles remains uncertain.
Under Trump’s proposal, around 611 staff members would have continued working at the agency. The judgment was delivered as officials removed and concealed USAID signage at its headquarters in Washington, DC.
Trump has contended that USAID is not an efficient utilization of taxpayer resources. It is among several governmental bodies his administration aims to target in efforts to reduce federal expenditure.
The Republican campaigned on restructuring the government and established an advisory panel named the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) – chaired by tech mogul Elon Musk – to curtail the budget.
Friday’s verdict by Judge Nichols followed an urgent plea by the American Foreign Service Association and American Federation of Government Employees – two labor unions representing the agency’s workforce.
Judge Nichols, nominated by Trump during his initial term, mentioned that a written directive would be issued later with more specifics.
The organizations that filed the lawsuit informed the BBC they were awaiting the official court document to determine the impact on all USAID employees.
However, for now, it seemed that the more than 2,000 direct recruits at the agency, who are members of the unions, would remain unaffected, according to Lauren Bateman, a legal representative at Public Citizen, the advocacy organization that initiated the lawsuit.
Roughly 500 USAID employees had already been placed on leave by the Trump administration.
During the proceedings, the magistrate appeared unlikely to approve additional demands within the lawsuit, such as reinstating grants and contracts or reopening USAID premises.
The lawsuit asserted that the president was breaching the US Constitution and federal legislation by attempting to dismantle the agency.
“Not a single one of the defendants’ measures to disassemble USAID was undertaken with congressional approval,” the lawsuit declared.
“And under federal law, only Congress holds the authority to lawfully dissolve the agency.”
Speaking on behalf of the Trump administration, Justice Department official Brett Shumate told the court that the president “has determined there is malpractice and deception at USAID.”
Hours after assuming office on 20 January, Trump signed an executive order suspending all international aid until such funds were evaluated and aligned with his “America First” agenda.
This resulted in a halt to operations at USAID, consequently disrupting the global relief framework as hundreds of initiatives were suspended in nations worldwide.
On Friday, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “USAID IS DRIVING THE RADICAL LEFT INSANE.
“THE FRAUD IS AT LEVELS HARDLY EVER SEEN. SHUT IT DOWN!”
The US remains the largest single contributor to humanitarian assistance globally. It operates bases in over 60 countries and engages in numerous others, with a significant portion of its activities conducted by its subcontractors.
According to governmental records, the US allocated $68bn (£55bn) for international assistance in 2023.
This total is distributed across multiple departments and agencies, but USAID’s share accounts for more than half at approximately $40bn—equivalent to around 0.6% of the total US yearly government budget of $6.75tn.
The head of the United Nations’ HIV/AIDS initiative told the BBC that these reductions would have severe repercussions globally.
“AIDS-related fatalities over the next five years will rise by 6.3 million” if funding is not reinstated, stated UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima.
Previous USAID administrators have denounced the rumored cutback strategy. One of them, Gayle Smith, emphasized to the BBC that the US has consistently been the quickest to respond during global humanitarian emergencies.
“When you withdraw all of that, you send some extremely perilous signals,” Smith remarked. “The US is indicating that we essentially don’t care whether individuals survive or perish and that we’re not a dependable ally.”
