U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, issued the order on Friday and also agreed to block an order that would have given the thousands of overseas USAID workers the administration wanted to place on abrupt administrative leave just 30 days to move families and households back to the U.S. on government expense.
In a dramatic twist following the joint press conference between Musk and Trump on Tuesday, a federal appeals court declined to put a stop to a judge's directive that compels the Trump administration to release a hefty sum of federal grants and loans.
Musk defended his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)'s efforts to slash spending at crucial government agencies like USAID, Department of Education, and the Department of Labor.
Musk has already begun to see pushback from the federal courts with regard DOGE's access to sensitive Treasury Department records as well as attempts to place thousands of USAID employees on leave.
The Associated Press reviewed a White House fact sheet on the order, which noted that "agencies will undertake plans for large-scale reductions in force and determine which agency components (or agencies themselves) may be eliminated or combined because their functions aren't required by law.".
