On Friday, a federal judge rejected a request from a union representing employees of the United States Organization for International Development (USAID) and refused to stop the Trump administration from dismantling the agency.
US District Judge Carl Nichols rejected the union’s request for a temporary injunction, failing to prove irreparable harm and determined that their claims should be resolved through an existing administrative review process. . Submitted by the American Foreign Affairs Association and the American Government Employee Federation Litigation On February 6, President Donald Trump’s executive order was an illegal attempt to destroy the agency through Elon Musk’s government efficiency without Congressional approval. (Related: Federal judges deny Dems’ efforts to stop staffing purges for Doge and stop access to sensitive data)
“The record does not reflect the imminent direction of such a direction,” Nichols wrote on his 26 pages. opinionhighlighted that USAID workers remained on their pay and overseas staff retained access to security resources. “Instead, USAID explicitly notified employees that they had the option to hold the post.”
We fed USAID to Wood Chipper over the weekend.
We managed to go to some great parties.
I did that instead. https://t.co/0v35naccicw
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2025
Legal spats arise from President’s Day Presidential Ordermandated a 90-day suspension of foreign aid payments, with the exception of Ukraine and Israel. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was later appointed administrator of USAID, and the agency’s headquarters was later closed with Reuters Report Agents will reduce the global workforce from over 10,000 to 294.
The lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of violating the Foreign and Budget Act, claiming that the 2024 Appropriations Act would prohibit enforcement actions that reorganize agencies like USAID without Congressional approval. . They also said the government stopped operating the USAID and failed to follow the required procedures before placing thousands of employees on administrative leave.
“One of the defendant’s actions in dismantling the USAID was not taken in accordance with Congress’ approval,” the lawsuit reads. “And according to federal law, Congress is the only entity that could legally dismantle an agency.”
More than 1,000 USAID employees have already been locked out of the system, according to court documents. Ecuadorian drug show, Peruvian transgender comic book and Arabic “Sesame Street” Production – Confused. State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce, I said Freezing was necessary to ensure [foreign aid programs] It is efficient and consistent with US foreign policy under the US’s first agenda. ” (Related: “Our Foreign Policy DNA”: How USAID hides behind humanitarianism to export radical leftist priorities overseas)
.@secrubio In El Salvador: “I am the proxy director of USAID. I delegated that authority to someone…” pic.twitter.com/dabj41iyxc
– cspan (@cspan) February 3, 2025
The court previously granted a temporary restraining order that blocked the placement of additional administrative leave, but the ruling on Friday lifted that limit. Nichols determined that employment-related complaints should be addressed through management channels, not through emergency judicial interventions.
The decision clears the path for the Trump administration’s staffing to continue, even as lawsuits remain ongoing. The union has yet to indicate whether they will appeal.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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