Government Unions Withdraw Motion Against USAID Document Destruction

Government worker unions have withdrawn their motion to halt the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) from destroying documents after receiving assurances from Trump administration lawyers that no personnel records were destroyed and that documents would be preserved where legally required.

On Thursday, government worker unions decided to withdraw their legal motion aimed at preventing the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) from destroying documents from its recently shut office spaces. Administration lawyers assured the unions that no personnel records had been eliminated.

The decision came after the unions received promises that they would be notified and could object before further document destruction occurred. The unions previously argued that destroying documents could violate federal law and compromise evidence essential to their lawsuit against President Donald Trump's administration.

In a court filing, the unions dismissed their motion after learning from Justice Department lawyers that most documents were from other agencies and deemed unnecessary. Despite significant program cuts and staff layoffs at USAID, a recent legal ruling requires the administration to continue spending congressionally appropriated foreign aid funds.

(With inputs from agencies.)