A federal judge on Thursday extended his block on the Trump administration's plan to reduce the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) by placing 2,200 employees on administrative leave. 

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, paused the order last week after two unions representing USAID employees sued the administration over the plans. The order was set to expire on Friday.

Nichols on Thursday said he would extend the pause by one week, with the new expiration set for Feb. 21, according to The Hill. He also intends to rule on whether to issue a preliminary injunction against the order before the next deadline.

The judge has not clearly indicated whether he would grant the injunction, but has been skeptical of the unions' claims, by questioning why they are not waiting until the actions go into effect and then seek legal aid. A lawyer for the unions, Karla Gilbride, claimed that if the employees waited then they would not have an agency to return to.

Gilbride also claimed the Trump administration's plans to close USAID amounts to an "unprecedented usurpation of power that does not belong to the executive branch.”

A Justice Department attorney has repeatedly claimed that the employees who are placed on leave would remain safe, and the leave will be paid. But the amount of time that the leave would be in effect has not been specified, and the attorney did not provide details on what actions would be taken to ensure the workers' safety.

“In the end, plaintiffs want a federal court to put USAID back to where it was under a previous president’s foreign policy,” the DOJ lawyer said.  

Nichols ordered the Justice Department to provide more detail about the actions that would be taken while the employees are on leave, and what benefits employees would retain if placed on administrative leave, by Friday.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.