SUMMARY
A federal judge handed President Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) a major victory Thursday, greenlighting the firing of nearly 800 USAID contractors. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, ruled the contractors didn’t prove their dismissal would cause irreparable harm, shutting down their bid for emergency relief. This follows his earlier call against a USAID union trying to save over 2,000 direct-hire jobs. Nichols said the contractors’ woes stem from government contract changes, suggesting they look elsewhere for help. The Personal Services Contractor Association sued last month to protect about 1,110 contractors—half overseas—after Trump’s aid freeze sparked chaos. Attorney Carolyn Shapiro warned USAID’s “imminent destruction” could be a point of no return, like “Humpty Dumpty.” But Nichols called those fears too vague to halt the cuts.
