A federal judge on Thursday declined to immediately spare U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contractors from mass firings, letting move forward a core part of the Trump administration’s effort to dismantle the agency.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols said that USAID’s personal services contractors failed to prove they face irreparable harm and a likelihood of success on the merits, denying their motion for a temporary restraining order which would have returned fired contractors to employment and allowed them to resume work.

The judge said any harm the contractors face is “directly traceable” to changes the government has made to their contracts, suggesting that relief should be sought through a different avenue.

The Personal Services Contractor Association, an advocacy group for U.S. personal services contractors, sued the Trump administration last month to insulate the contractors from efforts to tear down the agency.

In court filings,........

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