The Donald Trump administration has ordered nearly all directly-hired staff of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to be placed on leave as part of the Republican’s drive to radically shrink the government.
USAID said on Tuesday that all direct hire personnel would be put on leave from Friday, apart from “designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs”.
According to USAID in a statement posted via its website, personnel posted overseas will be recalled from their postings within 30 days.
The statement noted that, "all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs. Essential personnel expected to continue working will be informed by Agency leadership by Thursday, February 6, at 3:00pm (EST).
"For USAID personnel currently posted outside the United States, the Agency, in coordination with missions and the Department of State, is currently preparing a plan, in accordance with all applicable requirements and laws, under which the Agency would arrange and pay for return travel to the United States within 30 days and provide for the termination of PSC and ISC contracts that are not determined to be essential.
"The Agency will consider case-by-case exceptions and return travel extensions based on personal or family hardship, mobility or safety concerns, or other reasons. For example, the Agency will consider exceptions based on the timing of dependents' school term, personal or familial medical needs, pregnancy, and other reasons. Further guidance on how to request an exception will be forthcoming."
Announcement comes as US President Donald Trump confirms he is considering eliminating the aid agency amid questions over its role in foreign countries.
USAID employs more than 10,000 people, about two-thirds of whom are stationed overseas, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Asked by a reporter on Tuesday if he was preparing to “wind down” the agency, Trump said, “I think so.”
On Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that he was serving as acting administrator of USAID.
USAID, which disbursed more than half of Washington’s $72bn foreign aid budget in 2023, has become a prime target of the cost-cutting drive spearheaded by tech billionaire Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has called USAID a “criminal organisation“, and claimed the agency is a “viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists who hate America”.
Critics have accused Trump and Musk of acting beyond their authority, arguing that dismantling USAID through executive action is unconstitutional as the agency’s status was established by an act of Congress.
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