White House says some employees were fired by mistake

A federal judge has temporarily halted the Trump administration’s sweeping 90-day foreign aid freeze, delivering a rebuke to one of President Donald Trump’s most ambitious and consequential executive actions.

The aid groups that sued the Trump administration – including the State Department and USAID – earlier this week over the president’s Jan. 20 executive order successfully argued that the aid freeze “will continue to have a catastrophic effect on the humanitarian missions of several plaintiffs,” U.S. Judge Amir Ali, a Biden-era appointee, wrote in an order late Thursday.

Ali issued a narrowly tailored temporary restraining order that prohibits the Trump administration from cutting off congressionally appropriated foreign aid or canceling any contracts for federal foreign aid assistance. He notably declined to issue a broader order that would block enforcement of Trump’s day-one executive order reevaluating foreign aid because the president does have the right to “conduct a comprehensive internal review of government programs.”

“To be sure, there is nothing arbitrary and capricious about executive agencies conducting a review of programs,” Ali wrote before turning to the consequences of the funding freeze. “But there has been no explanation offered in the record…as to why reviewing programs—many long standing and taking place pursuant to contractual terms— required an immediate and wholesale suspension of appropriated foreign aid.”

Ali had harsh words for the government’s decision to freeze foreign aid en masse, which he said “set off a shockwave and upended reliance interests for thousands of agreements with businesses, nonprofits, and organizations around the country.”

-ABC News' Lucien Bruggeman, Katherine Faulders and Peter Charalambous

More than 1,000 new workers were dismissed as part of the new wave of layoffs, the Department of Veterans Affairs said in a statement Thursday evening.

-ABC News' Ben Siegel

In a meeting Thursday, United States Office of Personnel Management acting Director Charles Ezell informed probationary employees that they were being laid off and instructed them to "gather your personal belongings and exit the premises" according to audio of the meeting obtained by ABC News.

Earlier in the day, OPM probationary employees who declined the deferred resignation offer were called to a midday meeting where Ezell informed them that their employment had been terminated, multiple sources told ABC News.

The meeting came as the Trump administration began laying off thousands of employees across numerous agencies, sources said

"Good afternoon, thank you for taking the time to meet with me today. This is a difficult conversation, and I want to be direct, while also ensuring that you have all the information and support that you need," Ezell said, according to the audio.

"You will receive your termination notice via email shortly, and it will include the reasons for termination. As a result, your employment with the Office of Personnel Management will end today.”

Ezell also told impacted employees that their "physical and IT system access will be deactivated by 3 p.m. ET today" and added, "We ask that you gather your personal belongings and exit the premises by 3 p.m. ET as well," instructing employees to leave all government property at their desks before departing.

"Understand that this may be unexpected and this is difficult news. While this decision is final, we want to ensure that you have all the information you need for next steps," he added, directing employees to contact HR.

Ezell closed the meeting by expressing hope that those fired would "use this as an opportunity for your next step forward."

-ABC News' Will Steakin

The president of the country’s largest federal employee union slammed the Trump administration’s planned mass layoffs, calling the move a "blatant violation of the principles of fairness and merit that are supposed to govern federal employment."

"These firings are not about poor performance -- there is no evidence these employees were anything but dedicated public servants. They are about power,” said American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley.

"They are about gutting the federal government, silencing workers, and forcing agencies into submission to a radical agenda that prioritizes cronyism over competence," Kelley added.

This new wave of firings could impact more than 200,000 workers hired by the federal government within the last two years, according to data from the Office of Personnel Management.

-ABC News' Peter Charalambous and Ben Siegel