US District Judge Carl Nichols lifted a temporary restraining order issued earlier this month in response to a lawsuit filed by the union.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) operated at least 1,600 workers in the United States on February 23 after a federal judge lifted a temporary restraining order that prevented the removal of planned staff. We issued a notice stating that we were leaving others on administrative leave. .
According to the agency’s notice, all remaining USAID direct employment officials will be eligible to start midnight on February 23, except for those handling “mission-critical features, core leadership and/or specially designated programs.” It will be placed on “global administrative leave.”
Notifications will notify the agency leadership that is necessary to continue working by 5pm on February 23rd, and affected workers will receive information about their benefits and rights. It states.
It is unclear how many important workers the State Department will hold. A Congressional Research Services report issued on January 6th showed that USAID has over 10,000 employees, with about two-thirds serving overseas.
The agency issued a notice after U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols lifted a temporary restraining order on Friday. He issued earlier this month in response to a lawsuit filed by the labor unions, namely the Federation of the US Government and the Association of the US Department of Foreign Affairs. The union argued that the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the USAID could violate the Budget Act.
In the February 21 ruling, Nichols refused to file a provisional injunction because the plaintiffs had not established a chance of success in merit and the public interest did not strongly support the injunction. He said.
“The plaintiffs have not presented irreparable harm that they or their members are approaching the possibility that they or their members will suffer a hypothetical future dissolution of USAID,” the judge said.
Nichols also indicated that future claims related to USAID workforce reductions must undergo administrative reviews such as the Merit Systems Protection Commission and the Foreign Service Complaint Committee before being taken to court. Masu.
Sky Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, a nonprofit advocacy group representing unions in legal challenges, says plaintiffs pursue “all legal options” to fight the administration’s efforts to dismantle USAID. He said he would continue.
“We are disappointed with today’s decision and believe that the harm facing USAID workers is real,” Perryman said in a statement on February 21. “We are confident that the courts will find an administration’s efforts to destroy USAID against the law.”
After taking office on January 20th, President Donald Trump announced a 90-day freeze on all foreign aid and development funding.
The move has raised multiple legal challenges from several lawmakers who argued that the funding freeze was unconstitutional. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on January 31 to prevent the administration from freezing federal financial aid.
The USAID website was taken offline shortly after Trump’s order was issued. The agency instructed thousands of employees to quit their jobs on February 7, placed them on paid administrative leave, and within 30 days they coordinated the return of overseas personnel to the United States.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that he took over the USAID chief and said he delegated authority to the head of Pete Marrocco, the department official he communicates with. Marrocco also serves as the State Department’s Head of Foreign Aid.
USAID is an independent body established in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy through the Foreign Aid Act. The agency is responsible for managing foreign aid and development assistance in the United States.
According to the Parliamentary Research Services Report, approximately 130 countries (such as Ukraine, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Yemen and Syria) received assistance from institutions during fiscal year 2023.
Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.
