USAID signs pulled from HQ as judge puts 'limited' block on Trump bid to dismantle agency
WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Friday issued a "very limited" temporary order blocking the Trump administration from taking some steps to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, as signs for the agency began being removed from its headquarters in the nation's capital.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington said in the order that 2,200 agency employees would not immediately be placed on administration leave, a move that was announced on Tuesday. Nichols' ruling came during a hearing on Friday on a lawsuit that was filed Thursday by groups representing foreign aid workers.
Nichols also paused the relocation of certain humanitarian workers stationed outside the United States.
The American Federation of Government Employees and the American Foreign Service Association said in the suit that the administration’s stop-work orders, funding freeze and staff reductions are costing thousands of jobs, threatening U.S. national security and causing a humanitarian catastrophe.
President Donald Trump accused the foreign aid agency of being “corrupt” by spending money on projects the White House has called “ridiculous” and “malicious.”
Earlier this week, about 10,000 USAID employees of the United States Agency for International Development, excluding essential personnel, were notified that they will be placed on administrative leave at the end of Friday.
Signage for the agency began being taken down from its headquarters at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington D.C. on Friday. References to USAID were also covered with black tape on signs outside the Ronald Reagan building.
At the hearing, Karla Gilbride, a lawyer for the unions, said the closure of offices and reduction of the workforce “were all done in excess of the executive’s authority in violation of the separation of powers," according to Reuters.
Brett Shumate, a Justice Department official, told the judge more than 2,000 USAID employees would be put on paid leave, and that the president “decided there is corruption and fraud” at the agency, according to Reuters.
Trump on Friday accused the agency without evidence of spending money fraudulently.
“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!" Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday morning.
Contributing: Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY; Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USAID signs stripped from HQ as judge puts 'limited' block on Trump