A judge is allowing the Trump administration to move forward with its plans to put thousands of U.S. Agency for International Development employees on leave and remove them from field offices worldwide.
Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols of D.C. ruled Friday that he would not be halting the Trump administration’s plans any longer after issuing a temporary restraining order on February 7. Nichols assessed that a group of plaintiffs suing to stop the mass layoffs at USAID have not shown that further relief is warranted.
“Weighing plaintiffs’ assertions on these questions against the government’s is like comparing apples to oranges,” Nichols said in a 26-page decision.
“Where one side claims that USAID’s operations are essential to human flourishing and the other side claims they are presently at odds with it, it simply is not possible for the Court to conclude, as a matter of law or equity, that the public interest favors or disfavors an injunction.”
Nichols did not find that the plaintiffs case demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits, irreparable harm, or the public interest in favor of further injunctive relief.
The plaintiffs in the case are two unions representing USAID employees and they argued that the Trump administration’s moves to dismantle the agency violated the Constitution and the administrative procedure act.
Nichols granted the plaintiffs a limited temporary restraining order preventing the White House from placing employees on leave and calling them back from their foreign offices. He did not prevent the administration from holding up foreign assistance funding for 90 days. The plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction in addition to the temporary restraining order, a request Nichols denied in issuing his decision. His ruling also dissolves the temporary restraining order that he extended for a week to consider the plaintiffs request for greater relief.
“For the reasons explained above, the Court concludes that plaintiffs have not demonstrated that they or their members will suffer irreparable injury absent an injunction; that their claims are likely to succeed on the merits; or that the balance of the hardships or the public interest strongly favors an injunction,” Nichols concluded.
President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency has taken actions to defund USAID and reorganize its personnel because of the agency’s track record of supporting left-wing causes worldwide and wasting taxpayer funds.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who is leading DOGE, declared war on the agency last month and vowed to shut the agency down shortly after Trump’s term began. In the meantime, President Trump named Secretary of State Marco Rubio the acting USAID administrator as the White House looks for ways to reshuffle its remaining programs into the State Department.
Critics of the Trump administration’s actions have highlighted USAID’s anti-poverty and healthcare programs in developing nations, while proponents of DOGE’s moves have spotlighted USAID’s promotion of left-wing climate goals and diversity programs worldwide.