Washington — A federal judge on Friday declined to block the Trump administration from putting thousands of employees with U.S. Agency for International Development on administrative leave and recalling others from overseas, clearing the way for the president to resume his efforts to overhaul the agency as part of his plans to slash the size of the federal government.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, appointed by President Trump, denied a request for a preliminary injunction sought by two labor unions that represent members of the Foreign Service and civilian employees. Nichols had issued a temporary order earlier this month that prevented the administration from placing thousands of USAID employees on administrative leave and evacuating workers from overseas posts, and ordered the Trump administration to reinstate USAID workers who had already been placed on leave.
But in turning down the request for the preliminary injunction, Nichols now allows the Trump administration to resume those efforts.
In a 26-page decision, the judge said that the employment-related injuries asserted by the unions did not warrant the remedy of emergency relief that they had sought. He said the Justice Department had persuaded the court that the risk to USAID employees placed on administrative leave is “far more minimal than it initially appeared.”
“Plaintiffs have presented no irreparable harm they or their members are imminently likely to suffer from the hypothetical future dissolution of USAID,” Nichols wrote, adding that those employees who are likely to be put on leave can address their concerns with the applicable government body for employee complaints.
He added that complaints from the unions about the effects on their members stemming from being placed on leave and asked to return to the U.S. are “archetypal complaints about changed employment conditions and their follow-on effects — which at this point appear to be largely financial.”
The judge also noted that federal laws allow domestic USAID employees or their union representative to object to being placed on administrative leave, indicating that the district court likely lacks jurisdiction over the unions’ claims.
Nichols found that the Trump administration had made a justifiable case that the actions at issue in the case “are essential to its policy goals.”
Despite the unions’ argument that USAID workers currently overseas had been stranded and locked out of computer systems, at times in dangerous situations, Nichols found that protections in place to keep workers stationed overseas safe were adequate, based on declarations from current USAID leadership.
USAID, which was established in 1961, emerged as an early target for Mr. Trump and Elon Musk, who the president said is leading the White House’s Department Government Efficiency, or DOGE, as part of their plan to slash the size of the federal government.
Shortly after coming into office for his second term, the president ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid, upending foreign development projects overseas and throwing contractors, nonprofit organizations and international aid groups into uncertainty.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed Congress earlier this month that the administration would begin the process of potentially reorganizing USAID. As part of that effort, more than 2,100 employees were placed on administrative leave, while the agency determined that roughly 611 staff were essential. It also ordered those in overseas posts to return to the U.S.
The agency had planned to place an additional 2,000 USAID workers on administrative leave by 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 7, but Nichols issued a temporary restraining order blocking the action and requiring the Trump administration to reinstate those already affected.
USAID employs more than 10,000 people, according to the Congressional Research Service, and roughly 4,800 are direct-hire who are stationed in foreign and domestic posts.
Mr. Trump’s efforts aimed at USAID have sparked several lawsuits, including another brought by a group of nonprofit organizations and contractors that received funding for foreign aid projects.
While the Trump administration is clear to put over 4,000 USAID employees on administrative leave in the dispute involving the unions, a federal judge in the case brought by the nonprofit groups has prevented the Trump administration from pausing foreign aid, grants and contracts while legal proceedings continue.
In addition to USAID, the Trump administration has been firing federal workers from across the government. Earlier this week, a federal judge allowed Mr. Trump’s efforts to slash the federal workforce to continue, declining a request to halt the terminations of government employees en masse as part of a separate lawsuit from a group of labor unions.
As of Friday, at least 12,000 federal employees have been fired by the Trump administration, a CBS News analysis found.
