A federal judge on Friday cleared the way for one of the Trump administration's remaining steps in its dismantling of the US Agency for International Development, allowing it to move forward with pulling thousands of USAID staffers off the job in the United States and around the world.
US District Judge Carl Nichols rejected pleas to keep his temporary stay on the government's plan to remove all but a small fraction of USAID staffers from their posts. His ruling also allows the administration to start the clock ticking on its planned 30-day deadline for USAID workers abroad to move back to the US at government expense.
His ruling comes in a broad lawsuit filed by unions on behalf of the agency staff, especially those at risk of being stranded abroad. The suit describes the Trump administration stalling needed medical evacuations for USAID staffers and spouses overseas, cutting some contractors off from emergency communications, and leaving staffers to flee political violence in Congo without support or funding.
The lawsuit more broadly challenges the constitutionality of the administration's dismantling of USAID, saying eliminating an agency would require congressional approval.
"At present, the agency is still standing," Nichols wrote in his ruling. "And so the alleged injuries on which plaintiffs rely in seeking injunctive relief flow essentially from their members’ existing employment relationships with USAID."
Nichols found that the unions’ challenge must be dealt with under federal employment laws rather than in district court.
President Donald Trump and the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency tied to billionaire Elon Musk have moved swiftly to shutter USAID, calling its programs out of line with the president's agenda and asserting without evidence that its work is wasteful.
The case is one of multiple lawsuits from groups representing USAID workers and nonprofits and businesses that are challenging the administration's sudden shutdown of the agency, including its placing of agency leadership on administrative leave. A judge in another suit has ordered the administration to temporarily lift a freeze on funding that has shut down USAID programs and operations worldwide.
Nichols, a Trump appointee, said he had been "very concerned" about workers in high-risk areas left overseas without access to emergency communications. But he has since been reassured by the Trump administration that they would still have access to two-way radios that allow 24–7 communications in emergencies, as well as a phone app with a "panic button."
He said the government’s statements persuaded him "that the risk posed to USAID employees who are placed on administrative leave while stationed abroad — if there is any — is far more minimal than it initially appeared."
The judge also said he was satisfied by assurances from USAID deputy administrator Pete Marocco that workers abroad would be allowed to stay in their jobs beyond the 30 days even if they stayed overseas.
Workers point to expected deep staffing cuts coming at their agency and others, saying they fear they could soon be stranded abroad without jobs, visas or US protection.
Pregnant women fear over their care The court battle over the government plans to bring the majority of foreign staffers home has highlighted the difficulties many face in the agency shutdown. That includes allegations that the Trump administration is stalling medical evacuations for as many as 25 USAID staffers and spouses in the later stages of high-risk pregnancies, according to testimony and a person familiar with the cases. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
In a statement Friday, the State Department said it "has approved all medevac requests that meet the required criteria and would not deny a request for an emergency medevac."
The State Department works with individuals needing medical evacuation to "identify a clinically appropriate location that can meet their medical needs consistent with the US government's legal and fiscal requirements," it added.
The administration says it is taking all required care of staffers as it terminates USAID programs and aims to recall thousands of workers and their families abroad.
The American women and their spouses, however, say they have been left in substandard medical care in posts in unstable countries, fearing for their lives.
"Everyone says I need to wait and see what happens" with Trump administration decisions, a USAID staffer, whose pregnancy is complicated by high-blood pressure, said in a court filing from her posting in an undisclosed country in Africa.
The woman's affidavit and others from staffers were filed with courts anonymously because of repeated warnings from the Trump administration that USAID staffers risk dismissal if they speak publicly.
"I have a due date that does not allow me to just wait and see what happens," the USAID staffer wrote. "If I cannot medevac as planned, I will be in a life-threatening situation."
In another case, a pregnant spouse of a USAID worker was left hemorrhaging in a foreign hospital bed to await delivery, her husband said in another affidavit. The intervention of a US senator, who was not identified in the affidavit, secured the government's agreement to pay for a medical evacuation. But doctors say the approval came too late in her pregnancy for her to safely take a long series of flights back to the US, even with medical escort.
The State Department did not respond to requests for comment on workers’ allegations that the government was stalling or refusing medical evacuations.
