USAID staffers turned away from offices even after court suspends leave order

USAID staffers turned away

Photo: The Canadian Press

United States Agency for International Development, or USAID contract worker Priya Kathpal, right, and Taylor Williamson, left, who works for a company doing contract work for USAID, carry signs outside the USAID headquarters in Washington, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Officials and federal officers turned away scores of U.S. Agency for International staffers who showed up for work Monday at its Washington headquarters, after a court temporarily blocked a Trump administration order that would have pulled all but a fraction of workers off the job worldwide.

A front desk officer turned away a steady stream of agency staffers— dressed in business clothes or USAID sweatshirts or T-shirts—saying he had a list of no more than 10 names of people allowed to enter the building. Tarps hung over USAID's interior signs.

A man who earlier identified himself as a USAID official took a harsher tone, telling arriving staffers “just go" and "why are you here?”

Workers embraced who had not seen each other since President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, who runs a cost-cutting taskforce, the Department of Government Efficiency, began dismantling USAID and its aid and development programs worldwide three weeks ago.

The Trump administration also ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop nearly all its work, effectively shutting down an agency that was created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal. Administration officials said its headquarters in Washington would be closed this week without giving a reason.

In Washington, some staffers said they went to the headquarters because they were confused by conflicting agency emails and notices over the weekend about whether they should go in. Others expected they would be turned away but went anyway. Some who asked to go retrieve belongings were denied entrance.

A USAID email sent Sunday night, saying it was “From the office of the administrator,” told employees that what it called “the former USAID headquarters” and other USAID offices in the Washington area were closed until further notice. It told workers to telework unless they are instructed otherwise.

A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked a Trump administration order that would have put thousands of USAID staffers on administrative leave that same day and given those abroad 30 days to get back to the United States at the government's expense. The temporary restraining order came in a lawsuit by two groups representing federal workers, and another hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

While the judge ordered the administration to restore agency email access for staffers, the order said nothing about reopening USAID headquarters. Some staffers and contractors reported having their agency email restored by Monday while others said they did not yet have access.

Department of Homeland Security officers and civilians also blocked USAID staffers and Democratic lawmakers from entering the headquarters last week.