Washington DC - A US federal judge ordered President Donald Trump's administration to halt its plans to put some 2,200 USAID employees on administrative leave from Friday night.

Two employee representatives had previously filed a lawsuit, arguing that Trump's government is not authorized to furlough the employees. Judge Carl Nichols, who was appointed in the Republican's first term, issued a temporary injunction while the legal dispute continued.

Earlier this week, the US government announced that all "direct-hire personnel" working anywhere in the world for the agency would be placed on "administrative leave" from Friday at 11:59 PM ET, with the exception of employees in critical positions.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly determined that fewer than 300 employees were to be considered essential, and therefore excluded from the furlough.

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The agency employs around 10,000 people, two-thirds of whom work outside the US. Not all of them are directly employed by USAID as some are local contractors.

Trump had already frozen the agency's funds in January pending an internal review, impacting a vast array of initiatives around the globe.

USAID is one of the largest aid agencies in the world and is responsible for doling out much of the US government's humanitarian assistance to developing countries and countries in crisis.

Trump, backed by his far-right billionaire acolyte Elon Musk, has repeatedly claimed it is run by "radical lunatics" seeking to hinder his America First foreign policy agenda.