UPDATE 4-US judge will enter "limited" temporary order blocking Trump from taking steps to dismantle USAID

"The president has decided there is corruption and fraud at USAID," Shumate said. The gutting of the agency has largely been overseen by businessman Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a close Trump ally spearheading the president's effort to shrink the federal bureaucracy.

A U.S. judge on Friday said he will enter a "very limited" temporary order blocking the Trump administration from taking certain steps to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington said he would issue the order following a lawsuit by the largest U.S. government workers' union and an association of foreign service workers, who sued on Thursday to stop the administration's efforts to dismantle the agency.

The administration in a notice sent to the foreign aid agency's workers on Thursday said it will keep 611 essential workers on board at USAID out of a worldwide workforce that totals more than 10,000. "The major reduction in force, as well as the closure of offices, the forced relocation of these individuals were all done in excess of the executive's authority in violation of the separation of powers," Karla Gilbride, a lawyer for the unions, said at the hearing.

A Justice Department official, Brett Shumate, told Nichols that about 2,200 USAID employees would be put on paid leave under the administration's plans. "The president has decided there is corruption and fraud at USAID," Shumate said.

The gutting of the agency has largely been overseen by businessman Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a close Trump ally spearheading the president's effort to shrink the federal bureaucracy.

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