A judge has temporarily halted President Donald Trump's plan to place 2,200 workers at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on paid leave, just hours before the action was scheduled to occur on Friday.
The order will be effective for a week, until midnight on February 14th.
Approximately 500 staff were already on administrative leave, with another 2,200 set to join them starting at midnight on Friday (05:00 GMT).
The last-minute lawsuit filed on Friday argued that the government was breaching the US Constitution and causing harm to the workers.
Judge Nichols supported the unions, stating that they would face "irreparable harm" without court intervention, whereas the government would not suffer any harm.
The court order also requires the reinstatement of the 500 staff who had been placed on administrative leave.
Judge Nichols specified, "All USAID employees currently on administrative leave shall be reinstated until that date, and shall be given complete access to email, payment, and security notification systems until that date, and no additional employees shall be placed on administrative leave before that date."
The judge will further review a request for an extended pause during a hearing on Wednesday.
The fate of the remaining USAID staff remains uncertain following the court order.
The administration is targeting numerous federal agencies in its endeavor to reduce US federal spending.
A key aspect of this effort is the establishment of an advisory body called the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), which is spearheaded by tech magnate Elon Musk to streamline the budget.
The ruling on Friday by Judge Nichols was prompted by an emergency petition from the American Foreign Service Association and American Federation of Government Employees, representing the agency's employees.
During the hearing, Judge Nichols, appointed by Trump during his first term, appeared unlikely to grant other requests presented in the lawsuit, such as restoring grants and contracts or reopening USAID facilities.
The legal action argued that the president's actions were unconstitutional and in violation of federal law regarding the dismantling of the agency.
A justice department official representing the Trump administration informed the judge that the president believes there is corruption and fraud within USAID.
Shortly after assuming office on January 20th, Trump issued an executive order pausing foreign assistance until funds were reviewed and aligned with his "America First" policy.
This led to a halt in operations at USAID, which manages health and emergency programs in approximately 120 countries, including some of the poorest regions globally.
In response to Trump's criticisms, declaring on his Truth Social platform that "USAID IS DRIVING THE RADICAL LEFT CRAZY", Samantha Power, a former USAID chief under President Biden, condemned the administration's decision in a scathing opinion piece in The New York Times.
The US is the largest humanitarian aid provider worldwide. USAID's budget amounts to about $40 billion, roughly 0.6% of the total annual US government spending of $6.75 trillion.
The head of the United Nations' HIV/AIDS program cautioned that the cuts would have severe global consequences, estimating a potential increase of 6.3 million AIDS-related deaths over the next five years if funding is not reinstated.