Federal judge pauses Trump's actions against USAID as signs removed from DC headquarters

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has temporarily paused the Trump administration's moves to put thousands of workers on leave and dramatically reduce the U.S. Agency of International Development (USAID) workforce.

Just a few hours before some of USAID's civil servants gathered with lawyers in D.C.'s federal courthouse to request that pause, crews were seen removing the sign from USAID's headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue. Customs and Border Protection has taken over the lease of the space, according to a White House official.

The pause, officially called a "temporary restraining order," prevents the administrative leave set to begin at 11:59 p.m. on Friday night. That leave would have affected thousands of USAID employees.

Those employees learned about the administrative leave through a message posted on USAID.gov earlier this week.

But with the ruling from Judge Carl Nichols, those roughly 2,200 employees will remain employed and active.

Nichols, who said he will enter a formal order before midnight, added during his decision that the order will be directed at the placement of employees on administrative leave, as well as what he called the “accelerated removal” of employees from countries around the world.

In addition to the 2,200 employees set to go on leave without the pause, 500 employees are already on administrative leave, according to Acting Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate, who argued this case on behalf of the Department of Justice.

Nichols said he has yet to decide whether the 500 employees already on leave will have their leave rescinded, but he says that will be clear in his order this evening.

During the hearing, Shumate had a hard time convincing Nichols there was a need for this midnight deadline.

“What is the urgency of this?” Nichols asked.

“The president has decided there is corruption and fraud at USAID,” Shumate replied, without providing any evidence of alleged corruption or fraud.

President Donald Trump's administration has criticized USAID for what it calls wasteful spending.

Nichols seemed skeptical of their reasoning, asking defendants who took the action to place thousands of employees on leave and why.

"I don’t believe that Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio has to provide any factual basis --" Shumate said, before Nichols interrupted him to say, "The answer is, there isn’t one."

“There is essentially no harm to the government” to temporarily press pause on this, Nichols said when announcing his decision.

Karla Gilbride, representing plaintiffs American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees, said for these USAID employees, it’s not just a job, "It’s a calling."

USAID is in charge of many foreign health projects, including health clinics, clean drinking water and food assistance for people in poverty.

"To stand by and watching children who are dying of malnutrition, not being able to provide medicines, having food spoil on shelves because it can’t be distributed, I think would cause some emotional injuries to these individuals," Gilbride said.

Gilbride laid out the impacts of the last few weeks on USAID, saying freezing of funding is causing "untold devastation around the world."

"There’s no statutory authority to what the president is doing," Gilbride said.

During the hearing, the plaintiffs also asked "for an immediate pause of further evacuation orders internationally, any administrative leave, [and that] any access be restored to USAID computer systems," citing concerns that the sudden freeze creates an "information vacuum" for the employees.

"In some cases, their diplomatic immunity privileges have been revoked, which places them at even greater risk," Gilbride said.

USAID personnel overseas were given 30 days to return to the United States. Workers living in foreign countries can apply for a waiver to stay longer if they have a special circumstance like children needing to finish out the school year.

On Thursday, two sources familiar with Trump administration plans told NBC News that USAID's more than 5,000 foreign service officers, civil servants and personal service contractors currently employed at the agency will be reduced to about 290 workers.

According to the Department of Justice during the hearing, 611 employees deemed "essential personnel" would have remained active, while another 2,700 would have been placed or remained on leave without the pause.

The USAID website’s memo earlier this week did not specify which employees are considered essential.

The USAID employees and their lawyers requested the pause "until the Court is able to further consider" the legality of the Trump administration's actions.

"Defendants have violated the Constitution and federal law through their systematic shutdown of USAID," the plaintiffs said of the administration in the court brief. "If the shutdown is allowed to continue, Plaintiffs and their members will suffer increased risks to their physical safety, irreparable harm to their health and family lives, exposure to legal liability, and devastating financial consequences, among other injuries."

"The public interest demands that USAID be permitted to continue operating to avoid further loss of jobs, deliver critical medical, food, and other aid, and prevent the potential loss of life while Plaintiffs’ claims are pending," they wrote.

Gilbride argued during the hearing that the president and executive branch does not have the authority to close offices and overseas stations without the authorization of Congress, and USAID employees should not be placed on leave before courts could examine those actions.

"The president does not have the authority to do this," Gilbride said. "It needs to be done through the proper congressional path."