Two unions representing USAID employees sued to challenge Trump administration actions they claim will "dismantle" USAID. The challenged actions include:
- Placing USAID employees on administrative leave
- Recalling overseas employees
- 90-day pause on foreign assistance funding
In 1:25-cv-352 (CJN) the court denied the unions' request for a preliminary injunction because:
- No Irreparable Harm:
- Employees on leave still maintain security access/protections
- No mandatory evacuation is being forced
- Financial harms can be remedied later
- No imminent job losses proven
- Unlikely Success on Merits:
- These employment-related claims should be handled through existing administrative channels (MSPB, FLRA, FSGB) rather than federal court
- The unions haven't shown they can bypass these standard procedures
- Balance of Interests:
- Court couldn't definitively say public interest favored either side
- Government made legitimate case for needing to review/audit USAID operations
The ruling allows the Trump administration to proceed with placing USAID employees on paid administrative leave, giving overseas employees the choice to return to US (with funded travel if within 30 days), and maintaining the pause on new foreign assistance funding.
This is part of a larger effort by the Trump administration to significantly restructure or reduce USAID's operations based on their view that the agency isn't aligned with US interests.