Judge blocks plan to put USAID workers on leave

A federal judge in the United States of America has barred President Donald Trump from placing 2,200 workers at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on paid leave. Judge Carl Nichols issued a limited temporary restraining order in response to a last-minute lawsuit filed by two unions trying to save the agency. Judge Nichols sided with the unions, saying they would suffer "irreparable harm" if the court did not intervene, while there would be "zero harm to the government". The order which also reinstates the 500 staff already placed on administrative leave, will remain in place for a week, until midnight the 14th of February. The judge rejected other requests from the unions to reopen USAID buildings and restore funding for agency grants and contracts.