Trump Administration’s USAID Overhaul Blocked by Federal Court

A US judge has blocked plans to send 2,200 employees of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on paid leave, just hours before the furloughs were set to take effect. Earlier on Friday, the judge said he would issue the stay as part of a “temporary” order to block some of President Donald Trump’s administration’s moves to dismantle USAID.

A lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to block the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) from being dismantled. The plaintiffs in the case are the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Foreign Service Association. The judge made the order during a hearing on the case.

The order to halt the plan to furlough workers was issued by District Judge Carl Nichols of Washington, who was nominated by Donald Trump during his first term as president.

The United States conducts its development work abroad primarily through USAID. The agency has more than 10,000 employees, two-thirds of whom work in different countries.

Under Trump’s plan, only 611 of the large number of USAID employees will be kept on as essential. The judge issued the order after the USAID sign was removed from the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

During the hearing of the case, Judge Nichols said that he would issue a written order on the matter by the end of the day on Friday (yesterday).

“The massive layoffs, the closure of the company’s offices, the forced relocation of employees, all of this was done outside the executive’s authority. This is a violation of the separation of powers principle,” said Carla Gilbride, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers in the case, at the hearing.

Before issuing the stay, U.S. Justice Department official Brett Shumate told Judge Nichols that under the Trump administration’s plan, about 2,200 USAID employees would be placed on paid leave. In addition, 500 employees have already been furloughed. He added that the president believes that USAID is corrupt and fraudulent.

However, the judge’s order will block the furloughing of more than 2,000 workers and will also halt the relocation of USAID humanitarian workers working outside the United States.

Yesterday, President Trump took to his social media account, Truth Social, to accuse USAID of corruption and fraudulent spending without providing any evidence.