The Trump administration has started shutting down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), notifying about 10,000 employees—excluding essential personnel—that they will be placed on administrative leave by Friday night.
Two-thirds of the USAID employees work overseas across 60 countries.
The move marks the latest in a series of President Trump’s “America First” approach since his return to the White House. Since his inauguration on January 20, the new administration has implemented a sweeping freeze on foreign aid programs, creating chaos in the aid sector and financial instability for groups dependent on USAID funding. Additionally, many USAID employees have been fired, furloughed, or placed on leave.
Mass layoffs and shutdown orders
A State Department notice posted on the USAID website said that effective 11:59 p.m. ET 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.”
The statement added that USAID is preparing a plan for personnel posted abroad, “under which the Agency would arrange and pay for return travel to the United States within 30 days” and terminate “contracts that are not determined to be essential.” Many contractors have already been furloughed or laid off.
The statement on the USAID website ended with: “Thank you for your service.”
Trump’s plan to dissolve USAID
When asked by reporters about the state of USAID, Trump said: “Well it’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics, and we’re getting them out…and then we’ll make a decision.”
The directive comes as President Donald Trump and his administration, led by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, work to eliminate USAID and merge it into the State Department. The administration has also frozen nearly all foreign aid, signaling its intent to abolish the agency entirely.
Despite these efforts, a report from the Congressional Research Service this week stated that the president cannot unilaterally “abolish, move, or consolidate USAID” without congressional approval.
Musk, who is heading the U.S. government efficiency effort under Trump, said on X that he is in the process of closing the agency. “I went over it with him in detail, and he agreed that we should shut it down,” Musk said. “And I actually checked with him a few times [and] said ‘are you sure?’” The answer was yes, he said. “And so we’re shutting it down,” Musk said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has taken on the role of acting USAID administrator, said the blunt overhaul of USAID was “not the way we wanted to do it initially, but it’s the way we have to do it now.” On Monday, Rubio told reporters: “Every dollar we spend and every program we fund … will be aligned with the national interest of the United States, and USAID has a history of sort of ignoring that and deciding that they’re somehow a global charity.”
Foreign aid and political context
The dismantling of USAID follows long-standing conservative and libertarian arguments that U.S. foreign aid is wasteful. The agency describes its mission as working “to end extreme poverty and promote resilient, democratic societies while advancing our security and prosperity.”
According to 2023 data from the Congressional Research Service, USAID’s largest aid recipients included Ukraine, Ethiopia, and Jordan, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Syria. Ukraine received more than $16 billion in macroeconomic support, making it the largest recipient.
What is USAID?
USAID is the U.S. government’s main agency for international humanitarian aid and development, working under the direct authority of the Secretary of State. Established in 1961, its mission is to provide assistance to countries in need, focusing on efforts to reduce poverty, combat disease, and address humanitarian crises.
USAID plays a central role in advancing U.S. foreign policy goals, including economic growth, democracy, and security. In fiscal year 2023, the agency employed over 10,000 staff, managed more than $40 billion in funding, and supported development initiatives in about 130 countries worldwide.
Former USAID leaders speak out against attempts to dismantle agency
Five former leaders of the US Agency for International Development from across Republican and Democratic administrations have spoken out against the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle the aid agency. They called on Congress “to swiftly protect the Agency’s statutory role.” The five former administrators said that to “weaken and even destroy the Agency is to the benefit of neither political party and the detriment of all Americans.”
“While we don’t agree on all issues, we wholeheartedly agree that USAID and America’s foreign assistance programs are vital to our interests, that the career men and women of USAID have served each of us well, and that it is the duty of the Administration and Congress to swiftly protect the Agency’s statutory role,” wrote Samantha Power, Gayle Smith, Andrew Natsios, J. Brian Atwood and Peter McPherson. They all served under the Biden, Obama, George W. Bush, Clinton, and Reagan administrations, respectively.
“Failure to maintain the global engagement that foreign aid enables, to honor the men and women of our civilian service as we do those in the military, or weaken and even destroy the Agency is to the benefit of neither political party and the detriment of all Americans,” they wrote.