A federal judge has ruled in favor of the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) by permitting the termination of nearly 800 contractors, marking a significant victory for the administration. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, appointed by President Donald Trump, determined that the USAID contractors failed to prove that their dismissal would cause irreparable harm. The decision denied their request for emergency relief to block the firings.
The ruling is consistent with Judge Nichols’ earlier decision rejecting a USAID union’s effort to prevent the administration from terminating over 2,000 direct-hire employees. He noted that the contractors’ harm stemmed directly from the changes made to their contracts by the government, advising them to seek redress through other legal channels. The judge stated that any harm the contractors face is “directly traceable” to the changes made by the government to their contracts, according to The Hill, indicating that they should pursue relief through a different avenue.
The Personal Services Contractor Association, an advocacy group representing U.S. personal services contractors, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration last month in an attempt to protect contractors from the administration’s efforts to dismantle the agency. Attorneys for the contractors stated that termination notices had been issued to “possibly hundreds” of the approximately 1,110 contractors employed by USAID, nearly 46 percent of whom are stationed overseas, according to The Hill. “The destruction of USAID is now imminent,” said Carolyn Shapiro, a lawyer for the challengers, during a hearing on the matter Wednesday.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration’s decision to freeze U.S. foreign aid sparked significant upheaval at USAID. President Trump argued that billions of taxpayer dollars were being wasted on programs that did not serve American interests. His executive order called for a comprehensive review of U.S. aid, effectively suspending nearly all programs.
As part of the crackdown, over 50 senior officials were placed on leave for allegedly opposing the freeze, while hundreds of contractors faced furloughs or terminations. The agency’s security team was also sidelined after trying to block access to investigators from the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk. Musk publicly described USAID as a “criminal organization” beyond repair, which led to the agency’s website being taken offline and staff being denied access to headquarters. A federal judge briefly paused the aid cuts, but Chief Justice John Roberts reinstated the suspension, pending a Supreme Court review.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against the Trump administration’s attempt to freeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid payments, upholding a lower court’s order that USAID must disburse funds to contractors for work already completed. The ruling came after Trump’s executive order that paused foreign assistance for a 90-day review.
