Trump Moves To Put Nearly All Usaid Washington Staff On Leave

The Trump administration is making moves to place nearly all of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Washington-based staff on leave, according to a USAID official and a person familiar with the situation.

The move affects thousands of people and is the latest blow the administration is striking against the agency, which is America’s primary vehicle for providing humanitarian aid. Tech mogul Elon Musk, a Trump ally running an initiative aimed at downsizing the government, has made USAID a particular target.

A person familiar with the situation said some 1,400 people will be notified Tuesday, on top of about 600 who were placed on leave starting Sunday night. That amounts to the majority of Washington-based staff — many of them civil and Foreign Service officers, the person said. The action was approved by Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s team, the individual added. The person was granted anonymity becuase of the sensitivity of the personnel moves.

A senior USAID official, who was granted anonymity because they feared reprisal, said the agency's human resources department said in a meeting Tuesday morning that it had already revoked system access for more than 1,400 staffers — an indication that many more are being put on leave than those previously announced.

That’s in addition to hundreds of USAID contractors who have been laid off or furloughed in recent weeks. The contractors lost their jobs in part due to an ongoing freeze on foreign aid imposed by President Donald Trump and his aides, who are making moves to fold USAID into the State Department.

Spokespeople for the State Department and USAID did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Eric Bazail-Eimil contributed to this report.