The U.S. Agency for International Development announced Tuesday night that almost all direct hires around the world will be placed on administrative leave this week.
The move was announced on the organization’s website after days of attacks by the Trump administration, including President Donald Trump himself.
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The announcement says that beginning at 11:59 p.m. Friday, “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.”
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Those expected to keep working will be notified by 3 p.m. Thursday, the announcement said, adding that the government is working on a plan to return workers who are not in the country back to the United States if contracts are “not determined to be essential.”
It ends with: “Thank you for your service.”
The administrative leave for direct hires under Tuesday night's notice will be paid leave.
USAID “direct hires” are civil and foreign service workers, according to the Congressional Research Service, known as CRS. There are other mechanisms by which people work with USAID.
The number of workers affected by the notice is in the thousands.
USAID’s workforce totals more than 10,000 direct hires and a type of contractor known as personal services contractors, the research service said in a January report. Around two-thirds of staff work overseas.
The American Foreign Service Association, which represents around 1,800 foreign service officers — mostly at more than 80 USAID missions overseas — has denounced what it characterized as a decision to “dismantle” USAID.
On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order freezing foreign aid funding for at least 90 days. The agency's headquarters were abruptly closed Monday, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was taking over the agency and then appointed State Department official Pete Marocco to run it.
Many Democratic lawmakers have expressed outrage, calling it illegal and saying USAID was established under a law passed by Congress. Some Republicans have voiced criticism, as well.
USAID delivers billions of dollars in humanitarian aid overseas, funding that advocates say provides a critical lifeline to more than 100 countries at only a small fraction of the overall federal budget.
President John F. Kennedy signed USAID into being through an executive order in 1961 after Congress passed the Foreign Assistance Act. The law required the creation of an agency to administer foreign assistance.
When Bill Clinton was president, Congress passed and Clinton signed the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998, which established USAID as an independent entity outside of the State Department.
A report by the Congressional Research Service this month says that Trump does not have the authority to abolish USAID and that congressional action would be required for any such move.
In fiscal year 2023, USAID managed more than $40 billion in combined appropriations to about 130 countries, the Congressional Research Service said. Some of the top recipients were Ukraine, which is fighting a devastating war after having been invaded by Russia, Somalia, Ethiopia, Jordan and Congo.
The Trump administration promised sweeping cuts to foreign assistance and radical changes to the government. Elon Musk, who a White House employee said is serving in the administration as a “special government employee,” said early Monday on X that he and Trump were "shutting down USAID." He added in a post that, “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper.”
Experts interviewed by NBC this week warned that the elimination of USAID would weaken U.S. in South America and Africa, and allow Russia and China to exert more influence on other nations.
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