About 10,000 employees of the United States Agency for International Development, excluding essential personnel, were notified Tuesday they will be placed on administrative leave at the end of Friday as President Donald Trump moves to dismantle the foreign aid agency.
A State Department notice to USAID employees ‒ two-thirds of whom work overseas across 60 countries ‒ said all USAID “direct hire personnel” across the world will be placed on administrative leave effective Friday, Feb. 7 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The only exception is for designated personnel responsible for “mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.”
The State Department is working on a plan to arrange and pay for the return of USAID employees living overseas back to the United States within 30 days and to terminate contracts not deemed essential, the notice reads. Extensions for their return to the United States will be considered “based on personal or family hardship, mobility or safety concerns, or other reasons.”
“Thank you for your service,” it concludes. The notice has replaced the usaid.gov website.
The mass terminations come as Trump and his administration, led by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, have worked to shut down the foreign aid agency and merge it into the State Department. USAID’s Washington headquarters was shut down Monday. Secretary State Marco Rubio was named USAID’s acting director.
Trump confirmed his intentions to wind down the agency in remarks to reporters Tuesday, calling the USAID “corrupt.” Musk’s swift dismantling of USAID has infuriated Democrats, who argue Trump lacks the constitutional authority to eliminate an independent agency established by Congress in 1998. USAID has a $40 billion budget that is funded by Congress.
In fiscal year 2023, USAID funding went to everything from women’s health in conflict zones to clean water, HIV/AIDS treatments, energy security and anti-corruption work, according to Reuters.
Credit: USA Today