Federal Judge Orders 'Very Limited' Pause on Trump-Musk USAID Purge

A federal judge said Friday that he would issue a "very limited" pause on the Trump administration's midnight deadline for the U.S. Agency for International Development to place thousands of agency staff on leave.

Judge Carl Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia—an appointee of President Donald Trump—said he would approve a limited temporary restraining order preventing 2,200 USAID employees from being put on administrative leave at midnight. Nichols also said he would decide whether the 500 workers who have already been placed on leave will be reinstated.

"They should not put those 2,200 people on administrative leave tonight," Nichols said, according toThe Hill.

Nichols' move came in response to claims by two unions—the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) and American Federation of Government Employees—that their members would suffer "irreparable harm" as a result of Trump's order. The unions said that the effort led by the Trump administration and unelected Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk constitutes an "ongoing, illegal scheme to gut" USAID.

"This is not something the president can unilaterally do," Karla Gilbride, an attorney representing the unions, told Nichols during a Friday hearing.

Nichols said that "frankly, there is zero harm to the government" from a temporary pause. The judge pressed Trump administration attorneys to show proof of their claims of widespread fraud and corruption within USAID, which provides foreign aid and development assistance but also has a dubious history of funding subversion, drug trafficking, forced sterilization, Central American death squads, and torture during its 64-year existence.

Musk—whose DOGE has locked USAID employees out of internal systems and recalled thousands of personnel to the U.S. in recent days—has promoted conspiracy theories about the agency. Earlier this week, he posted on his X social media platform that it's "time for it to die."

Trump posted Friday on his Truth Social online platform: "USAID IS DRIVING THE RADICAL LEFT CRAZY, AND THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO ABOUT IT BECAUSE THE WAY IN WHICH THE MONEY HAS BEEN SPENT, SO MUCH OF IT FRAUDULENTLY, IS TOTALLY UNEXPLAINABLE. THE CORRUPTION IS AT LEVELS RARELY SEEN BEFORE. CLOSE IT DOWN!"

Responding to Nichols' reprieve, AFSA president Tom Yazdgerdi said in a statement that "this ruling is a crucial first step in halting a reckless assault on USAID and in supporting the dedicated professionals who serve our country."

"We will continue to fight to protect the professionals who advance America's values and leadership abroad," Yazdgerdi added.

Lauren Bateman, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group, said that "tonight's ruling proves temporary relief for the over 2,000 workers set to be put on leave by the Trump administration. It is a step forward in our fight against the unconstitutional and illegal attempt to break the back of USAID."

"Trump and Musk's attempt to disrupt aid around the world is unfathomably cruel, and the ruling tonight pumps the brakes on the destruction of a vital tool of humanitarian relief and American diplomacy," Bateman added. "The Trump administration must abide by the ruling, or it risks catapulting the entire U.S. government into chaos."