Recently fired U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) staff carry boxes with a message as they leave work and are applauded by former USAID staffers and supporters during a sendoff outside USAID offices in Washington, D.C., on February 21, 2025. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
The staffers were greeted outside the offices by a small group of well-wishing supporters and former USAID workers who carried signs reading, "We love USAID" and "Thank you for your service, USAID."
Other workers were seen leaving the offices in tears.
The Trump administration plans to gut the agency and intends to leave fewer than 300 staffers on the job out of the current 8,000 direct hires and contractors.
They, along with an unknown number of 5,000 locally hired international staffers abroad, would run the few life-saving programs that the administration says it intends to keep going for the time being.
Tearful staffers leave USAID building in Washington, D.C. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
Nichols, who was appointed by President Trump during his first term, also wrote that because the affected employees had not gone through an administrative dispute process, he likely did not have jurisdiction to hear the unions' case or consider their broader arguments that the administration is violating the U.S. Constitution by shutting down an agency created and funded by Congress.
The judge said the issue was jurisdictional, that federal district courts should not be involved at this stage, and that the matter should be handled administratively under federal employment laws.
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"In sum, because the Court likely lacks jurisdiction over plaintiffs’ claims, they have not established a likelihood of success on the merits," the judge's ruling stated, in part.
"The court concludes that plaintiffs have not demonstrated that they or their members will suffer irreparable injury absent an injunction; that their claims are likely to succeed on the merits; or that the balance of the hardships or the public interest strongly favors an injunction."
Retired United States Agency for International Development worker Julie Hanson Swanson, left, joins supporters of USAID workers outside the USAID's Bureau of Humanitarian affairs office in Washington, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (Manuel Balce Ceneta)
The unions can now go to the Washington, D.C., federal appeals court for emergency relief to have the TRO put back into place, or possibly a preliminary injunction.
Fox News’ Bill Mears, Andrew Mark Miller, Aubrie Spady, Deirdre Heavey, Morgan Phillips and Emma Colton as well as Reuters contributed to this report.
Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.
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