There have been protests against the USAID freezes in Washington DC. (AP: J. Scott Applewhite)
In short:
A US judge has said he would pause plans to place 2,200 US Agency for International Development employees on leave.
Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump made the decision to pull almost all USAID workers off the job and out of the field worldwide.
What's next?
The judge said his order would pause the relocation of certain humanitarian workers stationed outside the United States.
A US judge says he will pause plans to place 2,200 US Agency for International Development (USAID) employees on leave, as part of a temporary "limited" order blocking the Trump administration from taking some steps to dismantle the agency.
USAID cut hits across South-East Asia
Photo shows A young woman holds a swaddled infant in her arms as she sits on a patio leading into a dark home.
US District Judge Carl Nichols, who was nominated by Mr Trump, sided with two federal employee associations in agreeing to a pause in plans to put USAID employees on paid leave.
Judge Nichols stressed his order was not a decision on the employees' request to roll back the administration's swiftly moving destruction of the agency.
He did not seem inclined to grant other requests from the unions to reopen USAID buildings and restore funding for agency grants and contracts.
Trump says USAID is corrupt, with no evidence
Justice Department official Brett Shumate told Judge Nichols that about 2,200 USAID employees would be put on paid leave under the administration's plans, adding that 500 had already been placed on leave.
"The president has decided there is corruption and fraud at USAID," Mr Shumate said.
However, the judge said his order would prevent those 2,200 employees from being immediately placed on administrative leave and would also pause the relocation of certain humanitarian workers stationed outside the United States.
Mr Trump accused USAID of being corrupt but has offered no evidence. (AP: Alex Brandon)
In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump accused USAID — without evidence — of corruption and 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," he said.
"The corruption at levels rarely seen before. Close it down."
Hours after he was inaugurated on January 20, Trump ordered all US foreign aid be paused to ensure it aligned with his "America First" policy.
Chaos has since consumed USAID, which distributes billions of dollars of humanitarian aid around the world.
'Full-scale gutting' of entire agency
The American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees argue that Trump lacks the authority to shut down the six-decade-old aid agency without approval from Congress.
"This is a full-scale gutting of virtually all the personnel of an entire agency," Karla Gilbride, the attorney for the employee associations, told the judge.
Department of Justice attorney Brett Shumate argued that the administration had all the legal authority it needed to place agency staffers on leave.
"The government does this across the board every day," Mr Shumate said.
"That's what's happening here. It's just a large number."
The Trump administration and Mr Musk, who is running a budget-cutting Department of Government Efficiency, have made USAID their biggest target so far in an unprecedented challenge of the federal government and many of its programs.
Workers were seen covering the USAID logo at the building in Washington. (AP: Jose Luis Magana)
Mr Trump's administration moved quickly to literally erase the agency's name.
Workers on a crane scrubbed the name from the stone front of its Washington headquarters.
They used duct tape to block it out on a sign and took down USAID flags.
According to Democratic politicians, they also carted away USAID's computer servers.
This ruling from Judge Nichols is the latest setback in the courts for the Trump administration, whose policies to offer financial incentives for federal workers to resign and end birthright citizenship for anyone born in the US have been temporarily paused by judges.
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