Federal Judge Rejects Union Bid To Halt USAID Dismantling

A federal judge Friday rejected a request from unions representing U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employees to block the Trump administration from dismantling the agency.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols rejected the unions’ request for a preliminary injunction, ruling that they failed to prove irreparable harm and that their claims should be resolved through existing administrative review processes. The American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees filed the lawsuit on Feb. 6, arguing that President Donald Trump’s executive orders were unlawful attempts to gut the agency through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency without congressional approval.

“The record does not reflect that such a direction is imminent,” Nichols wrote in his 26-page opinion, emphasizing that USAID workers remained on payroll and that overseas staff retained access to security resources. “Instead, USAID has expressly informed employees that they ‘retain the option to retain at their posts,’ ‘even while placed on administrative leave and not working.’”

The legal spat stems from the president’s day-one executive order, which mandated a 90-day pause on foreign aid disbursements, with exceptions for Ukraine and Israel. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was later appointed as acting USAID administrator, and the agency’s headquarters was later shuttered, with Reuters reporting