Juez federal bloquea temporalmente plan de Trump para despedir a miles de empleados de USAID

A federal judge in Washington halted, at least temporarily, one of the Trump administration's most sweeping personnel actions on Friday night. Just before midnight, Carl Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order blocking the forced resignations of thousands of USAID employees—a move that would have eliminated nearly the entire workforce of the agency responsible for American international development and humanitarian assistance.

The plan was stark in its scope. The administration had notified approximately 2,200 USAID employees working inside the United States that they had until 11:59 p.m. Friday to accept what the government called an administrative separation. For those stationed abroad—nearly all of USAID's roughly 10,000 total staff—the timeline was slightly longer but no less final: 30 days to return home. By the time the judge's order came down, about 500 employees had already accepted the separation terms, according to a Justice Department attorney who spoke in court.

What made the plan extraordinary was not just its speed but its ambition. According to reporting by The New York Times, the administration intended to reduce USAID from approximately 10,000 employees to just 290 positions deemed essential. The cuts would have been surgical in their precision: 77 people retained for health activities, 78 for humanitarian assistance. The regional offices that manage direct aid to other countries would have been gutted—12 people for all of Africa, 8 for Latin America and the Caribbean, 21 for the Middle East and Asia. The rest would be gone.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who now oversees USAID under Trump's reorganization, had framed the dismissals not merely as a cost-cutting measure but as a necessary correction. In an interview with Fox News earlier in the week, Rubio described finding USAID staff "totally unwilling to cooperate" and said there was no alternative to taking "drastic" action to restore control. He characterized the resistance as insubordination—a framing that suggested the layoffs were as much about discipline as about efficiency.

The broader context made the stakes international. The United States accounts for 47 percent of global humanitarian assistance spending, according to the United Nations. A near-total dismantling of USAID would represent a fundamental withdrawal from that role. Trump had already signaled his intention to cut American spending on international cooperation projects across multiple agencies and organizations. USAID was simply the most visible and immediate target.

The judge's temporary block came after hearing arguments from both the Trump administration and two groups representing federal employees. The order prevented the separations from taking effect as scheduled, though it remained unclear whether the block would hold or how long it might last. The decision opened a legal process that could determine whether the administration has the authority to proceed with such sweeping dismissals or whether courts would impose additional constraints.

For the employees who had not yet accepted separation, the judge's order provided a reprieve. For those who had already signed on, the legal status of their departures remained uncertain. The case now moves into the courts, where questions about due process, statutory authority, and the scope of presidential power over the federal workforce will be litigated. What happens next will shape not only the future of USAID but also the administration's ability to remake the federal government through rapid personnel actions.