POLITICS NEWS – Trump’s targets USAID; judge pauses USAID employee firings

Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer

A federal judge has paused Trump’s attempts to drastically scale back the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). This temporarily halted the plans that Trump had to put 2,200 USAID employees on leave by Friday at midnight. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols was appointed by Trump during his first administration and has now issued a temporary restraining order that blocked the government from putting USAID employees on leave. The order that Trump initially tried to pass forced those abroad to return to the U.S., however with the restraining order over 500 staffers have been reinstated after being placed on administrative leave. The order will be in effect until Friday at 11:59 pm with a second hearing scheduled for Wednesday. 

A spokesperson from the State Department has stated that the department will not be commenting on the pending or ongoing litigation matters. The White House has also declined to comment on the issue. The case brought against the federal government by the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees is intended to halt the USAID freeze and halt the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the agency entirely and freeze foreign aid.