From the NYT: A judge says he will freeze elements of Trump’s plan to shut down U.S.A.I.D.

Checking and balancing: 

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A federal judge on Friday said he would order the Trump administration to halt for now some elements of its attempt to shut down the United States Agency for International Development.

Judge Carl Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, a 2019 Trump appointee, said he would issue a temporary restraining order pausing the imminent administrative leave of 2,200 U.S.A.I.D. employees and a plan to withdraw nearly all of the agency’s overseas workers within 30 days.

He was ruling on a lawsuit filed by the largest union representing federal workers and the union that represents foreign service officers. Judge Nichols said the unions had “established irreparable harm” to the employees affected by the leave and withdrawal orders.

Saying that the ordered pause would be a brief one, Judge Nichols said it would allow for further, “expedited” arguments to determine the legality of the administration’s actions, but did not immediately schedule another hearing. He added that he was still considering how to address whether to reverse an action that had placed 500 agency employees on administrative leave.

His order was the latest action by a court to slow or limit President Trump’s agenda, following rulings that blocked for now Mr. Trump’s moves to freeze federal spending and overturn birthright citizenship. The cases are part of a sprawling legal battle over Mr. Trump’s efforts to expand presidential authority in ways that Democrats call unconstitutional.