This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

A federal judge has given President Donald Trump permission to proceed with a plan to remove thousands of workers in what used to be known as the U.S. Agency for International Development from their posts.

USAID was one of Trump's first targets in his fulfillment of his campaign promise to attack waste, fraud and corruption in federal spending.

The agency had thousands of employees who essentially handed out U.S. tax money for foreign projects, including some that have been revealed to be egregious wastes, such as DEI theatrical productions and LGBT comic books.

Lawsuits followed Trump's order that a few select responsibilities and a few selected employees be transferred to the State Department, with the rest of the duties and workers to be dismissed.

Now, a report in Newsweek reveals, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols has lifted a temporary block and is permitting the administration to "significantly downsize" the agency staff.

"The decision includes ordering those stationed abroad to return to the U.S. within 30 days at government expense, leaving only a small fraction of staff in place," the report said.

Unions, facing the loss of hundreds or thousands of members and the dues they would have been paying sued, claiming the quick dismantling over the agency left workers without emergency communications.

Nichols said, however, the unions' legal challenge must be addressed under federal employment laws rather than through district court litigation.

A report at CBS explained the decision clears the way "for the president to resume his efforts to overhaul the agency as part of his plans to slash the size of the federal government."