Thousands of American USAID workers were put on forced leave Friday as President Trump plows ahead with plans to effectively kill the nation’s main foreign aid agency.
Fewer than 300 officials at the venerable agency’s Washington, D.C. headquarters were told to keep working while the rest of the nearly 10,000 staffers have been ordered to return home from their posts in scores of countries around the globe immediately or face firing.
The Trump administration also suspended all programs run by USAID for what it called a review process, effectively firing around 5,000 local workers.
If upheld, the edict could end life-saving work combating famine, fighting disease and promoting democracy in nations from Azerbaijan to Zambia.
Democrats and unions representing civil service workers have vowed to fight Trump’s effort in court. They say Congress has the constitutional power to fund agencies and no president has the right to close an agency without lawmakers’ consent.
“This isn’t about efficiency. It’s about creating chaos,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia) tweeted.
Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blames the harsh cuts on billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump and Musk say they are intent on slashing what they call wasteful spending across the federal government.
The administration this week gave almost all USAID staffers posted overseas 30 days, starting Friday, to return to the U.S., with the government paying for their travel and moving costs.
Workers who choose to stay longer, unless they received a specific hardship waiver, might have to cover their own expenses, a notice on the USAID website said late Thursday.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio Thursday asserted that the U.S. government will continue providing foreign aid, but simply wants to make sure it’s cost-effective and aligned with American foreign policy.
“It is going to be foreign aid that makes sense and is aligned with our national interest,” said Rubio, who was an ardent advocate for USAID before Trump hired him to be the nation’s top diplomat.
Rubio claimed the drastic actions were needed to curb “rank insubordination” from liberal workers, and claimed the administration is seeking to avoid inflicting unnecessary pain on staff.
“We’re not trying to be disruptive to people’s personal lives,” Rubio told reporters on a visit to the Dominican Republic. “We’re not being punitive here. But this is the only way we’ve been able to get cooperation from USAID.”
First Lady Melania Trump heaped effusive praise on USAID during a 2018 trip to Africa, including a visit to a school in impoverished Malawi where she handed out soccer balls and soccer balls.
“We want to show the world that we care, and I’ve partnered and am working with USAID,” she continued. “And that’s what I want to share — that we care.”
If Trump succeeds in shuttering USAID, it will amount to a stunning blow to American allies in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The agency is the world’s premier organization providing life-saving health and food aid as well as best-in-class development assistance and promotion of democratic values.
Advocates in both parties have long championed USAID as a cost-effective way to build alliances globally and counter the malignant influence of rivals like Russia and especially ascendant China.
The White House derides it for programs like ones it says promotes diversity and inclusion in Serbia or condoms to Palestinians.