
A USAID and American flag exterior of United States Company for Worldwide Improvement (USAID) headquarters in Washington, DC, on Feb. 3, 2025.
Mandel Ngan/AFP through Getty Pictures
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Mandel Ngan/AFP through Getty Pictures
The Trump administration is placing all employees on the United States Agency for International Development on administrative go away as of 11:59pm on Friday, in keeping with a brand new directive despatched to all company employees and posted on the USAID website.
The message, which was unsigned, stated there could be exceptions for designated folks “chargeable for mission-critical features, core management and specifically designated packages.” It stated company management would notify “important personnel anticipated to proceed working” by Thursday afternoon.
The be aware ended with the phrases “Thanks on your service.”
A senior USAID official, talking on the situation of anonymity as a result of they concern retribution, stated it was “primarily a shutdown of USAID.”
The most recent transfer caps greater than two weeks of chaos on the company, which President Trump and his advisor Elon Musk have stated they’re within the technique of dismantling. The company’s web site had been taken offline final weekend.
“Really they’ve made America weaker tonight,” stated one other USAID official, who requested anonymity as a result of they aren’t approved to talk on behalf of the company. “We could not see it tomorrow however we are going to see it will definitely, folks in Beijing and Moscow are smiling tonight.”
The White Home and the State Division didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Earlier on Tuesday, the State Division began the method to withdraw all USAID personnel stationed abroad, in keeping with three sources with data of inside planning.
“We’re being tasked to help the Division in recalling USAID staff to the US by Saturday,” Seth Inexperienced, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Operations, wrote in an e mail to State Division employees on Tuesday afternoon.
It continued: “I perceive the feasibility issues in addition to the emotional toll it will tackle these impacted in addition to the group helping. We have been requested to employees a 24/7 Coordination Assist Group within the Ops Heart’s Taskforce house starting instantly.”
The e-mail went on to say one other State Division official would attain out to hunt volunteers and coordinate scheduling.
The be aware to all company employees afterward Tuesday prolonged that timeline. It stated “the Company, in coordination with missions and the Division of State, is at present getting ready a plan, in accordance with all relevant necessities and legal guidelines, below which the Company would organize and pay for return journey to the US inside 30 days.”
For USAID abroad employees, the company will think about case-by-case extensions based mostly on hardship, the message stated, together with “the timing of dependents’ college time period, private or familial medical wants, being pregnant, and different causes.”
Contracted employees decided to be unessential could be terminated, the be aware stated.
“Logistically difficult, tremendously costly”
USAID employees protested exterior the company’s Washington headquarters on Monday. They had been joined by Democratic lawmakers who railed towards the affect of Musk and his cost-cutting group, DOGE, which has been exercising management throughout a swath of federal companies. Musk has referred to as USAID a “felony group” and has been posting on his platform X for days about shutting the company down.

Staff and supporters collect to protest exterior of the U.S. Company for Worldwide Improvement (USAID) headquarters on Feb. 03, 2025 in Washington, DC. Elon Musk, tech billionaire and head of the Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE), stated in a social media submit that he and U.S. President Donald Trump will shut down the overseas help company.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Pictures
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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Pictures
Late Monday night time, a memo went out to State Division staff asking that abroad missions present the variety of USAID staff and dependent members of the family at their places.
About two-thirds of USAID’s 10,000 staff serve abroad in additional than 60 nation and regional missions, in keeping with a January 2025 report by the Congressional Analysis Service.
The abrupt recall of abroad employees will go away staff with simply weeks to determine the place to go, tips on how to organize pet care, take kids out of faculty, enable their spouses to make preparations, and plan for his or her belongings to be despatched behind them, for instance. In the meantime, withdrawing over a thousand overseas service officers and their households will probably be extraordinarily pricey, a number of diplomatic sources inform NPR.
“It is going to be logistically difficult, tremendously costly and undignified,” stated one USAID worker who was not approved to talk publicly. “Many of us have children in class, for instance.”
“The final time we tried to do that was throughout COVID, and it was unimaginable to do this shortly,” stated Susan Reichle, a retired senior USAID official.
In nations the place USAID pays for the operational value of the U.S. mission, similar to Egypt and South Africa, the Trump administration’s funding freeze is already stopping use of USAID funds. That has led staff each inside and outdoors USAID to concern that quickly they’re going to lose entry to electrical energy, communications, safety backups, trash pickups, medical evacuations, and different companies.
President Trump delegated Musk and DOGE to evaluate USAID programs and downsize the company, probably transferring it contained in the State Division. Trump has accused the company, which distributes billions of {dollars} in humanitarian assist worldwide, of corruption and fraud. He gave an inventory of worldwide outreach packages he disagreed with as illustrations of these claims, with out offering concrete proof of misuse or criminality.
Even earlier than Tuesday’s motion, a lot of USAID employees had already been placed on go away, limiting their entry to their workspace and ordering them to cease all work. A whole lot of independent contractors have been laid off or furloughed. Steerage to staff has been inconsistent and unclear, stoking concern and chaos amongst employees worldwide.
“It is simply so silly and harmful,” one USAID worker advised NPR. “We now have [never] destroyed extra goodwill and belief in such a brief time period.”
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