US judge clears way for USAID to put more than 2,000 employees on leave

A federal judge on Friday cleared the way for the Trump administration to put more than 2,000 US Agency for International Development workers on leave, a setback for government employee unions that are suing over what they have called an effort to dismantle the foreign aid agency.

US District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington lifted a temporary restraining order he had put in place at the outset of the case and declined to issue a longer-term order keeping the employees in their posts. He wrote that he was satisfied by the administration's assurances in court filings that USAID personnel abroad who were placed on leave would still be protected by US security.

Nichols, who was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, also wrote that, because the affected employees had not gone through an administrative dispute process, he likely did not have jurisdiction to hear the unions' case or consider their broader arguments that the administration is violating the US Constitution by shutting down an agency created and funded by Congress.

"We are disappointed in today's decision and believe the harms faced by USAID workers are real. We remain confident that the courts will find the administration's efforts to decimate USAID contrary to law," said Skye Perryman, president of the legal nonprofit Democracy Forward, which represents the unions, in a statement.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit was brought earlier this month by the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Foreign Service Association. The global anti-poverty group Oxfam has since joined the case, though Nichols has not yet considered its claims.

Trump, a Republican, ordered a 90-day freeze on all foreign aid on his first day in office, throwing global humanitarian relief efforts into chaos.

In the following weeks, officials took steps that have largely shut down USAID's operations, including placing much of its staff on leave, suspending or terminating most of its contracts and shuttering its Washington headquarters.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a February 4 letter to Congress that he had taken over as acting director of USAID, which Congress established as an agency independent of the State Department in 1998. He wrote that the State Department would consult with Congress about absorbing parts of USAID and shutting down the rest.

The foreign aid freeze and potential USAID shutdown have prompted multiple legal challenges.

Nichols' order comes a day after a different judge, who is presiding over lawsuits brought against the administration by foreign aid contractors and grant recipients, for the second time ordered the administration to resume payments on frozen contracts and grants after it failed to comply with an earlier order.