A federal court judge said he would block the U.S. Agency for International Development from placing 2,200 employees on administrative leave at 11:59 pm Friday, as had been originally planned.
Judge Carl Nichols said he would issue what he called a “very limited” temporary restraining order Friday night. The hearing came just a day after the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees, two unions representing USAID employees, filed a lawsuit alleging that the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID was unconstitutional.
“There will be zero harm to the state” from pausing the employment-related actions for a short period of time, Nichols said.