Judge Halts Trump’s Plan to Place Thousands of USAID Staff on Leave

A federal judge has temporarily blocked former U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to place 2,200 employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on paid leave, just hours before the move was set to take effect.

Judge Carl Nichols issued a limited temporary restraining order in response to a lawsuit filed by two unions representing the affected workers. The order remains in effect until February 14 at midnight, preventing further furloughs.

Under the administration’s plan, nearly all of USAID’s 10,000 employees would have been placed on paid administrative leave, leaving only 611 staff members active. Around 500 employees had already been furloughed, with an additional 2,200 scheduled to be placed on leave starting Friday at midnight (05:00 GMT).

The unions argued that the Trump administration’s actions violated the U.S. Constitution and caused undue harm to workers. 

Judge Nichols sided with the plaintiffs, stating that the affected employees would suffer "irreparable harm" without court intervention, while the government faced "zero harm" from maintaining their positions.

"All USAID employees currently on administrative leave shall be reinstated until that date, and shall be given complete access to email, payment, and security notification systems," Nichols ruled. 

He also prohibited the placement of additional staff on administrative leave before February 14.

The court will hold a hearing next Wednesday to consider extending the order further. However, the fate of the remaining staff remains uncertain.

Meanwhile, the ruling came as USAID headquarters in Washington, D.C., witnessed officials removing and covering agency signage, raising further questions about the future direction of the agency.