US judge halts order to place USAID employees on leave

U.S. federal judge Carl John Nichols has suspended a government order mandating administrative leave for the majority of employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). According to U.S. media reports, this is a temporary measure, allowing the judge additional time to review the matter in detail.

Initially, it was expected that at least 2,200 USAID employees would be placed on administrative leave within hours, with only a few hundred staff members left at work.

U.S. federal authorities argued that USAID is an inefficient organization. Earlier in February, U.S. President Donald Trump referred to USAID representatives as “lunatics,” accusing them of wasting budget funds on ineffective foreign aid programs.

Furthermore, Trump suggested that the agency’s leadership was de facto supporting the Democratic Party by financing several media outlets aligned with it.

Following Trump’s decision, USAID programs have been frozen; Trump has pledged to shut down the agency entirely.