The Associated Press published on 12 February 2025 an article titled "USAID Staffers Describe Colleagues Abandoned in Violence in Congo as DOGE Ends Assistance Programs" by Ellen Knickmeyer.
The article describes the plight of USAID staff forced to leave the Democratic Republic of Congo and the status of USAID staff generally, especially those left on their own overseas.
U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols granted in part the American Foreign Service Association and American Federation of Government Employees motion for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) as it relates to the placement of nearly all USAID employees on administrative leave and the unwarranted evacuation of USAID employees and their families from overseas. The TRO will remain in effect until 14 February.
The order temporarily halts the placement of all USAID employees on administrative leave and recall efforts as the plaintiffs continue to pursue litigation. Judge Nichols ordered the government to reinstate all USAID employees currently on administrative leave, granting those employees complete access to email, payment, and security notification systems. As this is a temporary order, this matter is far from over.
The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) filed on 6 February a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief against Donald Trump, the US Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development, the United States Treasury Department, Marco Rubio, and Scott Bessent.
The action seeks "injunctive relief with respect to a series of unconstitutional and illegal actions taken by President Donald Trump and his administration that have systematically dismantled the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)." The plaintiffs "seek a temporary restraining order directing Defendents to reverse these unlawful actions and to halt any further steps to dissolve the agency until the Court has an opportunity to more fully consider the issues on the merits."
Trump-appointed federal judge Carl Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia approved on 7 February a limited temporary restraining order that would block USAID employees from being put on administrative leave. Details on the pause will follow in a forthcoming filing.
