In brief
A federal judge has delayed a controversial plan by the Trump administration to significantly reduce staff at the U.S. Agency for International Development by another week, amid ongoing legal battles.
February 13, 2025, 6:30 p.m. ET - A judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Carl Nichols, has issued a temporary extension on a restraining order preventing the Trump administration's initiative aimed at drastically reducing the workforce of the U.S. Agency for International Development (U.S.A.I.D.). This plan would place over 2,000 employees on administrative leave and force overseas staff to return home within a month. Judge Nichols is expected to make a ruling on the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction by the end of next week which could result in the indefinite blocking of this proposed action.The unrest surrounding the directive comes as it has been largely influenced by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who has been assigned the role of making substantial cuts to the federal budget. The proposed plan has met intense opposition from employees and supporters of U.S.A.I.D., many of whom participated in a rally in Washington earlier this month.The lawsuit has been filed by two unions, representing those impacted— the American Foreign Service Association, which includes global mission aid workers, and the American Federation of Government Employees, which advocates for other direct hires of U.S.A.I.D. The filing claims that President Trump’s executive order to halt foreign aid for a period of 90 days and related measures to dismantle U.S.A.I.D. operations are unconstitutional.Various Democratic members of Congress, U.S.A.I.D. employees, and organizations reliant on U.S. foreign assistance have vocalized their opposition to the administration's moves to dismantle the agency. They argue that U.S.A.I.D.'s founding and function within the federal government are backed by law and funded via Congressional appropriations, valid until March 14.
