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USAID to Place Thousands on Administrative Leave Following Court Ruling on Trump Administration Plan
@Source: theunionjournal.com
All U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) direct hires classified as non-essential will be placed on administrative leave at 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, as stated in an email from the Office of the Administrator that was reviewed by CBS News.
Approximately 4,200 staff members set to be placed on leave will receive notifications by 5 p.m. on Sunday, according to the email. The agency will also be reinstating “voluntary Agency-funded return travel” for affected employees working overseas.
According to the Congressional Research Service, USAID has a workforce of over 10,000, with about 4,800 direct hires stationed in various international and domestic locations.
The email further indicated that around 2,000 personnel at duty stations within the U.S. will face a reduction in force as well.
Earlier this month, USAID identified 611 employees as essential during an initial attempt to place most direct hires on leave. However, a judge responded to a lawsuit filed by two unions representing USAID employees by ordering the agency to temporarily reinstate approximately 2,100 personnel who were previously placed on leave, while also prohibiting the administration from putting another approximate 2,000 on leave. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, appointed by President Trump, also issued a stay regarding orders for overseas personnel to return home.
Nevertheless, on Friday, Nichols decided against extending the temporary stay.
In a 26-page ruling, Nichols noted that the unions did not demonstrate sufficient grounds for emergency relief based on potential harm.
“The plaintiffs have failed to show any irreparable harm that they or their members are likely to suffer from the speculative future dissolution of USAID,” Nichols stated, highlighting that those placed on leave can still follow the standard procedures to raise their complaints with government agencies.
While the lifting of the stay permits the Trump administration to place USAID employees on leave, a ruling in a separate lawsuit filed by nonprofit organizations and contractors who received funding for foreign aid projects continues to prevent the administration from halting foreign aid, grants, and contracts already authorized by Congress as legal proceedings are ongoing.
Melissa Quinn and
Jacob Rosen
contributed to this report.
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