The U.S. Agency for International Development announced Tuesday night that almost all direct hires around the world will be placed on administrative leave later this week.
The announcement on the organization’s website comes after days of attacks by the Trump administration, including by President Donald Trump himself.
The USAID announcement says that beginning just before midnight 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 United States back to the U.S. if contracts are “not determined to be essential.”
It ends with: “Thank you for your service.”
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 that 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.
USAID was signed into being by President John F. Kennedy through an executive order in 1961, after Congress passed the Foreign Assistance Act of that same year. That 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 done 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 being invaded by Russia, and Somalia, Ethiopia, Jordan and Congo.
