A federal judge is temporarily blocking President Donald Trump from putting at least 2,200 workers of the U.S. Agency for International Development on administrative leave.
Judge Carl Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said Friday that he would be siding with unions representing the employees and that a temporary pause would not harm the government.
"They should not put those 2,200 people administrative on leave tonight,” Nichols said.
The move from President Trump was set to take effect at midnight.
Judge Nichols also said he would decide whether the 500 USAID workers who are already on leave would be reinstated. He said the unions - American Foreign Service Association and American Federation of Government Employees - claimed that they would suffer "irreparable harm" if there was no pause on the order from President Trump.
USAID has come under fire for the alleged corruption and fraud in the agency mentioned by members of DOGE and the Trump administration. 611 essential personnel are expected to stay on at USAID, which is now headed up by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
