U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols lifted a temporary restraining order issued earlier this month in response to a lawsuit filed by labor unions.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) issued a notice on Feb. 23 stating that it was laying off at least 1,600 workers in the United States and placing others on administrative leave after a federal judge lifted a temporary restraining order blocking the planned staff removal.
All remaining USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on “administrative leave globally” from midnight Feb. 23, except for those handling “mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs,” according to the agency’s
notice.
The notice states that agency leadership will notify essential personnel that they need to continue working by 5 p.m. EST on Feb. 23, while affected workers will receive information about their benefits and rights.
It is unclear how many essential workers will be retained by the State Department agency. A Congressional Research Service
report published on Jan. 6 showed that USAID has more than 10,000 employees, with approximately two-thirds of them serving overseas.
The agency issued the notice after U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols on Feb. 21
lifted a temporary restraining order, which he had issued earlier this month in response to a lawsuit filed by labor unions—the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Foreign Service Association. The unions alleged that the Trump administration’s effort to dismantle USAID could violate the Appropriations Act, which requires the president to notify Congress before significantly altering USAID’s workforce.
In a ruling on Feb. 21, Nichols said he denied a motion for a preliminary injunction because the plaintiffs had not established a likelihood of success on the merits and the public interest did not strongly favor an injunction.
“Plaintiffs have presented no irreparable harm they or their members are imminently likely to suffer from the hypothetical future dissolution of USAID,” the judge
said.
Nichols also signaled that future claims related to USAID’s workforce reductions must go through administrative review, such as the Merit Systems Protection Board or Foreign Service Grievance Board, before being brought to court.
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of the nonprofit advocacy group Democracy Forward, which represents the unions in their legal challenge, said the plaintiffs will continue to pursue “all legal options” to fight the administration’s efforts to dismantle USAID.
“We are disappointed in today’s decision and believe the harms faced by USAID workers are real,” Perryman said in a Feb. 21
statement. “We remain confident that the court will find the administration’s efforts to decimate USAID contrary to law.”
After taking office on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump
announced a 90-day freeze on all foreign aid and development funding, pending reviews to ensure that the programs aligned with U.S. interests under his “America First” policy umbrella.
The move sparked multiple legal challenges from several lawmakers, who alleged that the funding freeze was unconstitutional. A federal judge
issued a temporary restraining order on Jan. 31 to prevent the administration from freezing the federal financial assistance.
USAID’s website was taken offline shortly after Trump’s order was issued. The agency
instructed thousands of employees to cease work on Feb. 7, placing them on paid administrative leave. It coordinated the return of overseas personnel to the United States within 30 days.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has since
confirmed that he has taken over as acting USAID chief, and that he has delegated authority to top department official Pete Marocco, with whom he is in communication. Marocco is also serving as the State Department’s head of foreign assistance.
USAID is an independent agency established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 through the Foreign Assistance Act. The agency is responsible for administering U.S. foreign aid and development assistance.
According to the Congressional Research Service
report, about 130 countries—including Ukraine, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Yemen, and Syria—received aid from the agency during the 2023 fiscal year.
Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.
