Judge to issue ‘very limited’ order temporarily pausing USAID purge

A federal judge on Friday said he intends to temporarily block the Trump administration’s plan to place thousands of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employees on leave at midnight. 

Unions representing government employees sued to stop the shutdown of agency operations and restart the flow of foreign aid frozen by President Trump, who has accused the agency of fraud and corruption to justify its imminent shuttering.

Judge Carl Nichols, appointed by Trump during his first term, said he would issue a formal order later Friday but that a “limited, very limited” order temporarily pausing the plan would be  handed down. 

“They should not put those 2,200 people on administrative leave tonight,” Nichols said. 

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) and American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) called the Trump administration’s effort an “ongoing, illegal scheme to gut” the agency in court filings, contending that USAID employees would face imminent injury if the court did not immediately move to halt the plan.  

“This is not something the president can unilaterally do,” Karla Gilbride, an attorney representing the unions, told the judge during a hearing Friday. 

Trump and his allies, namely Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), launched an all out assault against the agency over the weekend, shutting employees out of internal systems and email, gutting their office buildings and recalling thousands of employees to the U.S. in recent days. 

Brett Shumate, a lawyer for the government, called the decision to put employees on leave nothing more than a “personnel action” for which the workers could seek legal remedies after they’ve been affected, through different channels.  

The government said some 2,200 employees were set to be put on paid administrative leave at midnight and roughly 500 individuals were already put on leave. Some 600 “essential personnel” remain. 

“That’s what’s happening here. It’s just a big number,” he said, referencing the thousands of employees who would be impacted.  

Several anonymous USAID employees submitted declarations to the court detailing their precarious situations.  

One woman, dubbed Beth Doe, said she is 32 weeks pregnant, and the shutdown could disrupt her birth plan.  

Another woman, called Carol Doe, said she stands to lose tens of thousands of dollars and that the “constant barrage” of late-night emails — many derogatory — has caused her “tremendous emotional distress.”  

And a man, deemed Eric Doe, said he and his children would be left homeless if the plan proceeds.  

“This experience has been degrading, dehumanizing, and traumatizing for my family,” Eric Doe, a foreign service officer for 15 years, wrote in the statement.  

By abruptly halting USAID’s work and pulling workers out, there’s also a risk for “severe harm and humanitarian carnage,” Gilbride said, arguing that there’s “no need” for the shutdown to occur so hastily. 

While lawmakers and legal experts have argued the Trump administration’s actions are illegal and unconstitutional, since USAID is an independent agency established by Congress, Trump has doubled down on allegations of fraud at the agency to justify the overhaul. 

“When you look at USAID, the whole thing is a fraud. Very little put to good use. Every single line that I look at is either corrupt or ridiculous,” Trump told reporters Friday. 

Musk has been hammering USAID on his social media platform X throughout the week, calling the agency a “ball of worms” that is “beyond repair.” 

Established in 1961, USAID has provided humanitarian, global health and development assistance around the world. More than 10,000 people worked for the agency, two-thirds of which were outside the U.S., according to Congress’ research institute, the Congressional Research Service (CRS). 

At the heart of the legal challenge is whether the executive branch can unilaterally scrap an independent agency established and funded by the legislature. 

While critics contend that since USAID was established by an executive order it can be undone by one, Congress passed a law codifying the agency in 1998, according to a Monday analysis from CRS, which said Trump’s actions raise “numerous questions” for the legislative branch. 

“These include whether the President is authorized to abolish the agency, whether the President can restructure the agency, and what happens to USAID’s resources if such actions are implemented,” the analysis states. 

Republican lawmakers have largely remained silent or fallen in line. The chairs of the GOP-led Senate and House Foreign Affairs Committees have both said they support the president’s plans to reform and restructure the agency. 

Democratic lawmakers, on the other hand, have vowed to fight in Congress, the courts and the press. 

“You may be cheering this act by Trump and Musk, or maybe you’re just afraid of Trump or Musk, but let’s be clear: they’re bypassing you as well, and the American people will hold you accountable,” Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) said to his Republican colleagues during a rally outside the Capitol on Wednesday. 

“This doesn’t stop until the public and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle stand up and remind Trump that we are co-equal branches of government, and we need to restore checks and balances in this country.”