The US Agency for International Development, USAID, has announced it would place nearly all of it staff around the world on leave, starting from Friday night.
According to a statement on its website Tuesday night, all overseas missions for USAID had been ordered to shut down, adding, that all staff are to be recalled by Friday.
The statement notes that all “direct-hire personnel” will be placed on leave with exceptions for those on “mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.”
Those considered exceptions will be notified by USAID leadership by 3 p.m. ET Thursday, and further guidance on how to request an exception will be forthcoming, the email said.
The statement notes the agency is developing a plan with the State Department to arrange and pay for return travel within 30 days for USAID personnel posted outside the U.S. The email states PSC (personal service contractor) contracts and ISC (independent service contractor) contracts “that are determined to be inessential will be terminated.”
It further stated that they will consider “case-by-case” exceptions and return travel extensions based on “personal or family hardship, mobility, or safety concerns.”
On Tuesday night, multiple USAID staffers based in the agency’s Capital headquarters told reporters that they had received a separate email notifying them that they had been placed on paid administrative leave.
Established in 1961 to combat poverty, strengthen democracy and protect human rights and global health, USAID has more than 10,000 employees, with about two-thirds serving overseas and maintains more than 60 country and regional missions.
The agency provides humanitarian aid to more than 100 countries, including disaster relief, health and medical aid, and emergency food programs.
However, billionaire Elon Musk, the head of United States Department of Government Efficiency, has said the agency should be shut down, arguing that it’s “beyond repair”, and has now become a target for the Trump administration that is seeking to cut the size of the federal government.
When asked Tuesday whether he would wind down USAID, Trump told reporters, “It sounds like it.” The president also praised Musk for scrutinizing the agency.
“Look at all the fraud that he’s found,” Mr. Trump said, adding that funding has gone to “all sorts of groups that shouldn’t deserve to get any money.”
