Usaid Staffers Turned Away From Offices Even After Court Suspends Leave Order

Officials and federal officers turned away scores of U.S. Agency for International staffers who showed up for work Monday at its Washington headquarters, after a court temporarily blocked a Trump administration order that would have pulled all but a fraction of workers off the job worldwide.

A front desk officer turned away a steady stream of agency staffers- dressed in business clothes or USAID sweatshirts or T-shirts-saying he had a list of no more than 10 names of people allowed to enter the building. Tarps hung over USAID's interior signs.

A man who earlier identified himself as a USAID official took a harsher tone, telling arriving staffers "just go" and "why are you here?"

Workers embraced who had not seen each other since President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk , who runs a cost-cutting taskforce, the Department of Government Efficiency, began dismantling USAID and its aid and development programs worldwide three weeks ago.

The Trump administration also ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop nearly all its work , effectively shutting down an agency that was created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal. Administration officials said its headquarters in Washington would be closed this week without giving a reason.