Two unions representing federal employees sued the Trump administration on Thursday evening, over its efforts to drastically reduce the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) workforce. 

The Trump administration reportedly planned to reduce the workforce from 10,000 jobs to just under 300 on Thursday, per the New York Times. The moves come as the government considered ending the program, after a review of its finances found that the agency regularly sent funding to controversial causes including George Soros' empire and drag queens.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) also targeted the agency over the weekend by placing thousands of employees on administrative leave, and locking some out of the system.

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) and American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) filed the lawsuit against President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, USAID, and the departments of State and Treasury.

The unions requested an injunctive relief “to immediately cease actions to shut down USAID’s operations," according to The Hill, and asked the court to immediately order an independent acting director of USAID, reopen the buildings, restore the USAID systems and webpages, resume all grants and contracts, and pause placing additional workers on leave.

“These actions have generated a global humanitarian crisis by abruptly halting the crucial work of USAID employees, grantees, and contractors," the plaintiffs wrote. "They have cost thousands of American jobs. And they have imperiled U.S. national security interests."

Rubio, whose department took over the agency on Monday, has defended the recent actions, claiming on Thursday that some of the terminations were because of insubordination within the agency's ranks.

“We’re not trying to be disruptive to people’s personal lives,” he told reporters. “We’re not being punitive here. But this is the only way we’ve been able to get cooperation from USAID."

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