Judge to Block Trump Admin Plan to Place 2,200 USAID Workers on Leave

by Misty Severi

A federal judge on Friday is expected to block certain aspects of the Trump administration’s plan to reduce the U.S. Agency for International Development, including the State Department’s plan to place 2,200 of those employees on leave.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, said he would finalize his decision later Friday evening, but told Trump attorneys during an emergency hearing that the employees should not be put on leave. 

He also said he is still considering whether to recall 500 employees who are already on leave, Politico reported.

The order comes after the Trump administration expected to reduce the agency’s workforce from 10,000 jobs to just under 300, and as two unions representing USAID employees sued the administration. 

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) and American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) filed the lawsuit against President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, USAID, and the departments of State and Treasury.

“These actions have generated a global humanitarian crisis by abruptly halting the crucial work of USAID employees, grantees, and contractors,” the plaintiffs wrote. “They have cost thousands of American jobs. And they have imperiled U.S. national security interests.”

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Misty Severi is a reporter for Just the News.