(Headline USA) The Trump administration said Tuesday that it is pulling almost all U.S. Agency for International Development workers off the job and out of the field worldwide, moving to all but end a six-decade money-laundering scheme to funnel funding and support to the CIA and other government agencies for the purposes of destabilizing foreign governments—and potentially engaging in covert, illegal activity that would never be appropriated by Congress under normal circumstances.
The administration notified USAID workers in emails and a notice posted online, the latest in a sudden dismantling of the agency by returning political appointees from President Donald Trump’s first term and billionaire Elon Musk’s government-efficiency teams who call much of the spending on programs overseas wasteful and corrupt.
This USAID stuff is wild!!! Lots of fraud!!https://t.co/j7Rn1voZBI pic.twitter.com/OXxIfit9GY
— Siaka Massaquoi (@_SiakaMassaquoi) February 4, 2025
The news drew a range of reactions, from conservative social-media influencers who celebrated and mocked the demise of the shadowy agency, to leftist critics who lashed out—with some even calling for violence in the streets.
It was unclear whether the protests were organic, however, or may have been the last gasp of the dying deep-state apparatus, which was likely the driving force behind color revolutions such as Ukraine’s 2014 revolt. The Obama-era coup forced out the country’s Russia-friendly regime in favor of one that was more supportive of America’s left-wing oligarchs, including George Soros, who set up his European base of operations there.
USAID also may have provided funding for CIA black sites and biolabs at the Ukraine–Russia border, some of which have been openly acknowledged, although the government largely continues to deny both their presence and role in fomenting the ongoing tensions between the two eastern European nations.
Some also accused the agency of being complicit in the foreign sex-trade of children through its funding to countries like Guatemala.
Y’all wanna know why the Democrats are FREAKING OUT over USAID?
WATCH THIS!!👇🏻
— SaltyGoat (@SaltyGoat17) February 4, 2025
The Trump executive order takes effect just before midnight Friday and gives direct hires of the agency overseas—many of whom have been frantically packing up households in expectation of the announcement—30 days to return home unless they are deemed essential. Contractors not determined to be essential also would be fired, the notice said.
It was the most severe of several proposals considered for consolidating the agency into the State Department. Other options had included closures of smaller USAID missions and partial closures of larger ones.
The move—following efforts by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to gain access to USAID offices only to be met with obstruction—had been rumored for several days.
"DOGE was in the building. We started — we took down our Pride flags, we took down- I took out any books I felt would be incriminating," Kristina Drye, a speechwriter for USAID, said. "No one was talking. We heard they started taking transcripts automatically of our Google- pic.twitter.com/Gft4Vr8nhj
— Silver lining (@Yoloshells) February 5, 2025
Lawmakers said the agency’s computer servers were carted away.
“Spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” Musk boasted on X.
Thousands of USAID employees already had been laid off, and programs worldwide shut down after Trump imposed a sweeping freeze on foreign assistance.
The mass removal of thousands of staffers overseas and in Washington would doom billions of dollars in projects in some 120 countries, including security assistance to partners such as Ukraine. It spends less than 1% of its budget on foreign assistance, a smaller share of its budget than some countries.
Democratic lawmakers insisted USAID is enshrined in legislation as an independent agency, and cannot be shut down without congressional approval. Supporters said its work overseas was essential to countering the influence of Russia, China and other adversaries and rivals abroad, and to cementing alliances and partnerships.
But detractors said it was actively working to undermine the interests of the Trump administration—and the will of voters unwittingly forced to foot the massive bill for purposes that have heretofore been largely shrouded in mystery.
The American Foreign Service Association, the union which represents U.S. diplomats, sent a notice to its members denouncing the decision and saying it was preparing legal action to counter or halt Trump’s order.
Locally employed USAID staff, however, do not have much recourse and were excluded from the federal government’s voluntary buyout offer.
Tuesday’s notice said it would consider case-by-case exceptions for those needing more time. But with most of the agency’s staff soon off the job, it was unclear who would process such claims or other paperwork needed for the mass removal of thousands of overseas staffers.
Musk’s teams had taken USAID’s website offline over the weekend and it came back online Tuesday night, with the notice of recall or termination for global staffers its sole post.
The announcement came as Secretary of State Marco Rubio was on a five-nation tour of Central America and met with embassy and USAID staff at two of the region’s largest USAID missions: El Salvador and Guatemala on Monday and Tuesday.
Journalists accompanying Rubio were not allowed to witness the so-called “meet and greet” sessions in those two countries, but had been allowed in for a similar event in Panama on Sunday in which Rubio praised employees, particularly locals, for their dedication and service.
At a news conference earlier Tuesday, Rubio said he has “long supported foreign aid. I continue to support foreign aid. But foreign aid is not charity.”
He noted that every dollar the U.S. spends must advance its national interests.
The online notice says those who will be exempted from leave include staffers responsible for “mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs” and would be informed by Thursday afternoon.
“Thank you for your service,” the notice concluded.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
