Both moves would have exposed the U.S. workers and their spouses and children to unwarranted risk and expense, the judge said.

A U.S. judge will consider on Friday whether to temporarily block the Trump administration from dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development and carrying out plans to put thousands of its workers globally on administrative leave at midnight.

A judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from placing 2,200 workers at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on paid leave, hours before it was due to happen. Judge Carl Nichols issued a "limited" temporary restraining order, in response to a last-minute lawsuit filed by two unions trying to save the agency.