A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s plan to strip down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to just a few hundred employees, preventing thousands from being placed on administrative leave just hours before the midnight deadline.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, ruled from the bench after a heated hearing in Washington, D.C., where the Justice Department struggled to justify the urgency of the move.
“There is essentially no harm to the government” in pausing the staffing cuts, Nichols said in his decision. He added that his forthcoming order would determine whether 500 USAID employees already placed on leave would be reinstated.
The ruling comes as the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) challenge the legality of the administration’s effort to gut the foreign assistance agency.
Lawsuit: Trump’s USAID Purge is Unconstitutional
The AFSA and AFGE filed a lawsuit Thursday, arguing that the Trump administration’s directive—backed by tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—violates the separation of powers and exceeds presidential authority.
“Not a single one of defendants’ actions to dismantle USAID were taken pursuant to congressional authorization,”the lawsuit states, emphasizing that only Congress has the power to dissolve a federal agency.
The sudden reduction of USAID’s 5,000-person workforce has also sparked concerns over a global humanitarian crisis, with aid programs grinding to a halt. USAID personnel abroad were given just 30 days to return to the U.S., further disrupting operations.
Trump and Musk Double Down on USAID Criticism
President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have fiercely defended the move, claiming USAID is riddled with corruption and fraud.
“The way in which the money has been spent, so much of it fraudulently, is totally unexplainable. The corruption is at levels rarely seen before. CLOSE IT DOWN!” Trump wrote in all caps on Truth Social ahead of Friday’s hearing.
Musk, who has previously spread conspiracy theories about USAID, labeled the agency a “criminal organization” in a post on X (formerly Twitter), declaring: “Time for it to die.”
Judge Presses Justice Department on Urgency of USAID Cuts
During Friday’s hearing, Acting Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate struggled to convince Judge Nichols that the administration’s midnight deadline was necessary.
“What is the urgency of this?” Nichols pressed.
Shumate responded, “The president has decided there is corruption and fraud at USAID.”
Despite the administration’s claims, critics argue the move is a politically motivated power grab aimed at reshaping the federal government to fit Trump’s and Musk’s vision.
Retaliation Against USAID Security Officials
The Trump administration has also faced backlash for sidelining key USAID security officials who attempted to push back against DOGE’s aggressive oversight.
When USAID’s director of security, John Voorhees, and his deputy, Brian McGill, tried to block DOGE from accessing secure agency systems, they were swiftly placed on administrative leave.
What’s Next?
While Judge Nichols’ ruling temporarily halts the USAID downsizing, the legal battle is far from over. The Biden-era foreign aid agency remains a prime target for Trump and Musk as they push for sweeping federal workforce reductions.
With the court set to revisit the case in the coming days, USAID employees and humanitarian organizations worldwide remain on edge, waiting to see if the agency will survive its biggest threat yet.
