The Trump administration on Tuesday announced that it was going to put on leave all directly hired employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development globally and recall thousands of personnel working overseas.
“On Friday, February 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST) all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally,” said an announcement on the USAID web site, which has been down since the weekend.
Some personnel “responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs” were excepted from the move, it said.
USAID’s workforce totals more than 10,000, with about two-thirds of that staff serving overseas, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). The agency has more than 60 country and regional missions.
For USAID staff overseas, Washington was preparing a plan in coordination with the State Department and would pay for the return travel of personnel to the United States within 30 days, the announcement said. It added that the USAID leadership was going to consider case-by-case exceptions based on personal hardship or concerns over mobility and safety.
“Thank you for your service,” the announcement finished.
The shocking overhaul, which risks upending the lives of thousands of staff and their families, comes as President Donald Trump moves merge USAID, Washington’s primary humanitarian agency that distributes billions of dollars worth of aid abroad, with the State Department and effectively dismantle the agency as an independent entity.
On Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters he was now the acting head of USAID, calling the agency “completely unresponsive” and accusing staff there of being “unwilling to answer simple questions” about programs.
He informed Congress in a letter of the looming reorganization of the agency, saying some parts of USAID might be absorbed by the State Department and the remainder may be abolished.
But because Congress established USAID as an independent establishment within the executive branch, the President does not have the authority to abolish it without congressional authorization, according to a CRS report this week.
Turmoil
Hundreds of USAID programs covering lifesaving aid across the globe came to a halt after Trump on Jan. 20 ordered a freeze of most U.S. foreign aid, saying he wanted to ensure it is aligned with his “America First” policy. He tasked billionaire Elon Musk, who has falsely accused USAID of being a “criminal” organization, with scaling down the agency.
The announcement on the USAID website went online hours after State Department officials were told by Peter Marocco, a Trump appointee who was on Monday tasked with overseeing the agency’s operations, that all USAID staff and their families should be recalled, sources said.
Tuesday night’s announcement caps nearly two weeks of mayhem at the agency, where dozens of staff at the headquarters in DC were put on leave and hundreds of internal contractors were laid off. Implementing partners of USAID are facing financial trouble on the back of stop-work orders from the State Department.
Waivers have been issued for some emergency life-saving assistance.
In fiscal year 2023, the United States disbursed $72 billion of aid worldwide on everything from women’s health in conflict zones to access to clean water, HIV/AIDS treatments, energy security and anti-corruption work. It provided 42% of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024.
The funding, less than 1% of the United States’ total budget, is instrumental in Washington’s effort to build alliances around the world, reinforce its diplomacy and counter the influence of adversaries such as China and Russia in the developing world.
The announcement added that essential personnel expected to continue working will be informed by Agency leadership by Thursday, February 6, at 3:00pm (EST).
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