Judge halts Trump's purge of USAID
The directive arrives amid efforts by the agency's over 2,000 staff to thwart its closure. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
A federal judge has issued a temporary injunction preventing the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which serves as Washington's main channel for funding political initiatives overseas, from placing thousands of employees on paid leave. This ruling follows a lawsuit initiated by two labor unions that represent federal workers.
Judge Carl Nichols of the US District Court in Washington, DC, granted a “limited” restraining order on Friday, preventing the federal government from placing approximately 2,200 USAID employees on administrative leave or evacuating them from their host countries before February 14. The ruling also reinstates around 500 employees who had already been furloughed.
“All USAID employees currently on administrative leave shall be reinstated until that date, and shall be given complete access to email, payment, and security notification systems until that date, and no additional employees shall be placed on administrative leave before that date,” the order states.
A request for a long-term pause on administrative leave will be considered at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
Earlier on Friday, Democracy Forward and Public Citizen Litigation Group filed the lawsuit on behalf of the American Federation of Government Employees, which has 800,000 members, and the American Foreign Service Association, representing thousands of foreign service officers employed by USAID.
US President Donald Trump had previously suspended all US foreign aid pending a three-month review, making this decision one of his initial executive orders following his inauguration on January 20. This move is part of a broader strategy aimed at drastically cutting government spending, and as a result, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio halted several projects assigned to USAID.
Earlier in the week, Trump alleged that the agency had redirected billions of taxpayer dollars to media companies to ensure favorable covering of Democrats. Furthermore, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who is at the forefront of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency evaluating federal spending, criticized USAID as a "criminal organization" and accused it of funding bioweapon research.
Alejandro Jose Martinez for TROIB News
Judge Carl Nichols of the US District Court in Washington, DC, granted a “limited” restraining order on Friday, preventing the federal government from placing approximately 2,200 USAID employees on administrative leave or evacuating them from their host countries before February 14. The ruling also reinstates around 500 employees who had already been furloughed.
“All USAID employees currently on administrative leave shall be reinstated until that date, and shall be given complete access to email, payment, and security notification systems until that date, and no additional employees shall be placed on administrative leave before that date,” the order states.
A request for a long-term pause on administrative leave will be considered at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
Earlier on Friday, Democracy Forward and Public Citizen Litigation Group filed the lawsuit on behalf of the American Federation of Government Employees, which has 800,000 members, and the American Foreign Service Association, representing thousands of foreign service officers employed by USAID.
US President Donald Trump had previously suspended all US foreign aid pending a three-month review, making this decision one of his initial executive orders following his inauguration on January 20. This move is part of a broader strategy aimed at drastically cutting government spending, and as a result, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio halted several projects assigned to USAID.
Earlier in the week, Trump alleged that the agency had redirected billions of taxpayer dollars to media companies to ensure favorable covering of Democrats. Furthermore, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who is at the forefront of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency evaluating federal spending, criticized USAID as a "criminal organization" and accused it of funding bioweapon research.
Alejandro Jose Martinez for TROIB News
