A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from taking specific actions to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Context
Two government workers unions filed a lawsuit late Thursday seeking a temporary restraining order to force the Trump administration to reverse its efforts to get rid of almost all USAID employees, effectively shutting down the agency.
USAID has distributed billions of dollars in foreign assistance to war-torn countries and populations facing poverty and disease. But its been hamstrung since President Donald Trump took office last month, as the administration moved to recall hundreds of workers, shut down USAID's headquarters, wound down most of the agency, and started moving what few programs remained under the State Department's umbrella.
What To Know
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols' ruling late Friday came after the American Foreign Service Association and American Federation of Government Employees sued the Trump administration over USAID on Thursday. It named Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the State Department, USAID and the U.S. Treasury Department as defendants.
The suit was filed shortly after the Trump administration proposed a plan to drastically cut USAID staff across the globe.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit described Trump and his administration's actions as "unconstitutional and illegal," arguing the president doesn't have the power to unilaterally shut down USAID. It added that despite that, the Trump administration has "systematically dismantled" the agency.
"These actions have generated a global humanitarian crisis by abruptly halting the crucial work of USAID employees, grantees, and contractors," the court filing said. "They have cost thousands of American jobs. And they have imperiled U.S. national security interests."
Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued at Friday's hearing that their USAID employees could suffer irreparable harm as a result of being placed on administrative leave; being removed from countries where they were stationed abroad; and Secretary of State Marco Rubio's order in January pausing all foreign aid.
Brett Shumate, a lawyer for the Justice Department, pushed back and told Nichols that Trump "has decided there is corruption and fraud at USAID."
But Nichols sided with the plaintiffs, saying he would issue a "very limited" temporary order blocking the State Department from placing 2,200 USAID employees on leave Friday night while the matter was litigated.
The judge also ordered the reinstatement of 500 agency employees who had already been placed on leave.
"This is about how employees are harmed in their capacity as employees," Nichols said at the court hearing.
In his ruling formalizing the TRO, Nichols agreed with the plaintiffs' assertion that they could be harmed if they are placed on administrative leave and abruptly recalled from their host countries.
He pointed specifically to their contention that being placed on administrative leave while being stationed abroad means hundreds of USAID employees would immediately be locked out of agency systems that warn them about possible threats to their safety and essentially exist in an "informational vacuum."
"No future lawsuit could undo the physical harm that might result if USAID employees are not informed of imminent security threats occurring in the countries to which they have relocated in the course of their service to the United States," Nichols wrote.
The judge also sided with the plaintiffs in their argument that being recalled from their posts abroad with such short notice could have significant, long-term effects for their families by interrupting their medical care, potentially separating them from their family members, and forcing them to "be back in the United States homeless."
"Even if a future lawsuit could recoup any financial harms stemming from the
expedited evacuations—like the cost of breaking a lease or of abandoning property that could not be sold prior to the move—it surely could not recoup damage done to educational progress, physical safety, and family relations," Nichols wrote.
The judge also appeared open to the plaintiffs' argument that the Trump administration violated federal law by trying to unilaterally dismantle and downsize USAID without informing Congress.
Nichols went on to say that the Trump administration has not proven that its interests could be harmed if it isn't allowed to continue recalling USAID employees next week. "For these reasons, and again in light of plaintiffs' strong showing of irreparable harm, the Court finds a TRO is warranted," the ruling said.
Who Is Judge Carl Nichols?
Trump nominated Nichols during his first term and he was confirmed to the federal bench in 2019.
Since then, Nichols has made headlines for issuing rulings that ran counter to Trump interests, including when he oversaw the criminal case against former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. Nichols also dealt a blow to the president himself when he dismissed a lawsuit Trump filed seeking to block New York from turning his financial records over to House Democrats in 2019.
What People Are Saying
Samantha Power, who served as USAID administrator under the Biden administration, warned of the consequences of dismantling the agency in a New York Times opinion piece published Thursday: "We are witnessing one of the worst and most costly foreign policy blunders in U.S. history. Less than three weeks into Donald Trump's second term, he, Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have halted the U.S. Agency for International Development's aid programs around the world."
"In so doing, they have imperiled millions of lives, thousands of American jobs and billions of dollars of investment in American small businesses and farms while severely undermining our national security and global influence — all while authoritarians and extremists celebrate their luck," Power wrote.
Former President Barack Obama shared Power's op-ed on X, writing: "USAID has been fighting disease, feeding children, and promoting goodwill around the world for six decades. As this article makes clear, dismantling this agency would be a profound foreign policy mistake - one that Congress should resist."
Republican Senator Jerry Moran advocated for USAID food programs on Friday, writing on X: "U.S. food aid feeds the hungry, bolsters our national security & provides an important market for our farmers, especially when commodity prices are low. I've spoken to [the U.S. Department of Agriculture] & the White House about the importance of resuming the procurement, shipping & distribution of American-grown food."
What Happens Next
The temporary restraining order will remain in place until February 14, Nichols said in his ruling, and USAID employees who were placed on leave will be reinstated with full access to email, payment and security notification systems.
Nichols also scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing for Tuesday morning.
Update 2/8/25 9:29 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with new information.
About the writer
Gabe Whisnant is Deputy Weekend Editor at Newsweek based in South Carolina. Prior to joining Newsweek in 2023, he directed ... Read more