A worker removes the U.S. Agency for International Development sign on their headquarters on Feb. 7, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Kayla Bartkowski | Getty Images
A federal judge on Friday said he would temporarily pause the Trump administration’s plan to place thousands of workers at the U.S. Agency for International Development on administrative leave.
About 2,200 USAID employees were set to be placed on leave Friday night at 11:59 p.m. ET, as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to shut down the independent government agency.
Judge Carl Nichols delivered the ruling after hearing arguments from the Trump administration and two groups representing federal workers in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
The two groups, the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees, had asked Nichols to order the Trump administration “to immediately cease actions to shut down USAID’s operations.”
But Nichols said Friday afternoon that he would be entering a “very limited” temporary restraining order directed at the 2,200 at-risk USAID workers.
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