Judge blocks Trump from placing 2,200 USAID workers on leave

A national justice connected Friday ordered a impermanent artifact connected plans by the Trump administration to enactment 2,200 employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development connected leave.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, besides agreed to artifact an bid that would person fixed conscionable 30 days for the thousands of overseas USAID workers the medication wanted to spot connected abrupt administrative permission to determination their families backmost to the U.S. astatine the government's expense.

Both actions by the medication would person exposed the workers and their families to unnecessary hazard and expense, according to the judge.

This comes arsenic President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency, question to dismantle the agency.

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Demonstrators and lawmakers rally against President Donald Trump and his state Elon Musk arsenic they disrupt the national government, including dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development connected Capitol Hill successful Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Nichols noted that staffers surviving overseas person said the medication had chopped immoderate workers disconnected from authorities emails and different connection systems required to scope the U.S. authorities successful lawsuit of a wellness oregon information emergency.

USAID contractors successful assorted regions, including the Middle East, adjacent reported that "panic button" apps had been removed from their phones oregon disabled erstwhile the medication abruptly placed them connected leave.

"Administrative permission successful Syria is not the aforesaid arsenic administrative permission successful Bethesda," the justice said.

An worker of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) who wished to stay anonymous protests extracurricular the USAID office connected February 3, 2025, successful Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

The justice besides pointed to workers stating difficulties that would originate from the 30-day timeline to instrumentality to the U.S., including that they had nary location to instrumentality to successful the U.S. aft decades overseas and that they would beryllium forced to propulsion children with peculiar needs retired of schoolhouse successful the mediate of the schoolhouse year.

Nichols ordered 500 USAID staffers who had already been placed connected permission by the medication to beryllium reinstated.

But the judge declined a petition from 2 national worker associations to assistance a impermanent artifact connected an administration-imposed backing frost that has unopen down the bureau and its work, pending much hearings connected the workers' lawsuit.

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The American emblem flying unsocial beside an bare flagpole that antecedently had the emblem of USAID is pictured successful the reflection of a model that antecedently had the motion and the seal of USAID, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP)

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Nichols emphasized successful the proceeding earlier Friday that his bid to intermission the administration's actions was not a determination connected the employees' petition to artifact the administration's efforts to rapidly destruct the agency.

"CLOSE IT DOWN," Trump said connected Truth Social, referring to USAID, up of the judge’s ruling.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.