On Friday, fired American International Development Agency (USAID) staff left Washington, D.C. for the last time, with some carrying boxes scattered with news that seemed targeted. President Donald Trumpthe institution’s labor force is being cut.
Thousands of staff were told about their pending firing a few weeks ago, and a federal judge on Friday followed the path of mass layoffs for the Trump administration, aiming to eliminate waste from the entire federal bureaucracy.
“We gave up on the world,” she read a message on a box dragged out by a grinning employee as she stepped out of the U.S. Agency for Humanitarian Affairs.
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Another smiling employee box had a more optimistic tone, and her message was read: “You can bring humanitarians out USAID But you can’t bring humanity out of humanitarians. ”
Recently fired a US International Development Agency (USAID) employee with information when leaving work and a USAID official and supporter outside of USAID on February 21, 2025 at a USAID outside of USAID in Washington, DC. Applause. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
A small group of pioneer supporters and former USDA workers greeted staff outside the office, carrying signs to read, “We love USAID” and “Thank you for your service, USAID”.
I cried when I saw other workers leaving the office.
The Trump administration plans to take the agency into a stance and intends to leave less than 300 of its current 8,000 direct employees and contractors.
They, along with 5,000 locally employed international staff abroad, will carry out a few life-saving plans, and the government says it intends to move forward for the time being.
Recently fired AUD staff left the USD office in Washington, D.C. on February 21, 2025. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has made special criticisms amid alleged waste of spending by the Department of Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk.
For example, Senator Joni Ernst A list has been published In her said the projects and programs that the United Nations International Development helped fund over the years include a $20 million Sesame Street exhibition in Iraq.
There are several more examples USAID has identified suspicious spending, including a “Gaza terrorist charity” called Bayader Environmental and Development Association, which has more than $900,000 and plans to “increase diversity, equity, and cost $1.5 million,,,,, and included in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities. ”
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Trump has moved out of the agency after a 90-day pause to foreign aid. He also appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio As acting director of the United States Agency for International Development.
Government Employees Union has sued to stop mass layoffs, but U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols on Friday lifted his temporary restraining order at the beginning of the case and refused to issue a long-term order to get employees in positions .
Tears staff leave the US Agency for International Development Building in Washington, DC (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
Nichols, who was appointed by President Trump in his first term, also wrote that since the affected employees have not experienced an administrative dispute process, he may not have jurisdiction to hear union cases, or consider Their broader arguments violate the U.S. Constitution by closing down institutions created and funded by Congress.
The judge said the issue was jurisdictional and that the federal district court should not be involved at this stage and that the issue should be handled administratively under the Federal Employment Act.
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“All in all, because the court may lack jurisdiction over the plaintiff’s claims, they have no chance of determining the merits of success,” the judge said.‘S ruling section says.
“The court concluded that plaintiffs did not prove that they or their members would suffer irreparable harm without injunction; their claims would likely be successful in the merits; or, hardship or balance of public interest strongly supported the injunction.”
Retired U.S. International Development Workers’ Office Julie Hanson Swanson left, with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) outside the U.S. Agency for Humanitarian Affairs in Washington Supporter, Friday, February 21, 2025. (Manuel Balce Ceneta)
The union can now head to Washington, D.C., the federal court of appeals to restore the TRO to its original state, or possibly a preliminary injunction.
Fox News’ Bill Mears, Andrew Mark Miller, Aubrie Spady, Deirdre Heaven, Morgan Phillips and Emma Colton, and Reuters contributed to the report.
