WASHINGTON — The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) began implementing forced leave for nearly all its employees globally starting Friday. This move has sparked a response from employee associations, which have turned to the federal courts in an attempt to reverse the rapid dismantling of this longstanding aid agency and its international programs initiated by the Trump administration.
State Department officials and other parties are urging the Trump administration to permit a larger number of USAID employees to continue their work, at least on a temporary basis. This request comes as many workers are involved in the logistical challenges of repatriating thousands of USAID direct hires, contractors, and their families currently stationed abroad.
The administration informed USAID officials that it intended to exempt fewer than 300 employees from the global leave and furloughs affecting about 8,000 direct hires and contractors. Diplomats at U.S. embassies have sought waivers to allow more time for certain personnel, particularly those who had to abruptly pull their children from schools in the middle of the academic year.
Sources within USAID, including two current employees and a former senior official, revealed the staffing reduction plan to remaining senior officials of the agency, requesting anonymity due to restrictions imposed by the Trump administration on communication from USAID staff.
The few remaining direct hires and contractors, alongside an uncertain number of 5,000 locally hired employees abroad, are expected to manage a limited number of critical programs that the administration claims it will keep operational for now.
It remains uncertain if these staff reductions will be permanent or if there will be opportunities for more workers to return once the administration concludes its assessment on which aid and development initiatives are set to continue.
This week, the Trump administration provided nearly all USAID personnel stationed overseas with a 30-day window, starting Friday, to return to the United States, with travel and moving expenses covered by the government.
In a notice released late Thursday on the USAID website, the agency indicated that employees placed on administrative leave abroad would not be compelled to leave their host countries. However, those opting to remain beyond the 30-day period may be responsible for their own costs unless they obtain a specific hardship exemption.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during a visit to the Dominican Republic, stated that the government would assist staffers in returning home within the 30-day limit “if they so desired” and would be attentive to individual circumstances. “We’re not trying to be disruptive to people’s personal lives,” Rubio assured reporters, emphasizing that there was no intent to penalize the staff. He represented the administration’s actions as necessary to ensure cooperation, as agency employees allegedly continued to execute payments for foreign assistance despite a stop order.
President Donald Trump took to social media, asserting “CLOSE IT DOWN.” Rubio reinforced the commitment to continue providing foreign aid, stressing that future assistance would align with U.S. national interests and be sensible.
The Trump administration, along with billionaire Elon Musk—who is heading a budget-reducing Department of Government Efficiency—has placed USAID at the forefront of its unprecedented overhaul of governmental operations and programs.
Since Trump’s inauguration on January 20, a sweeping funding freeze has curtailed most of USAID’s global initiatives, causing nearly all its personnel to be placed on administrative leave or furloughed. Musk, alongside the Republican president, has mentioned the possibility of dissolving USAID as a standalone agency and transferring any remaining programs to the State Department.
Democratic lawmakers and various groups allege that these actions are illegal in the absence of congressional consent. Similar concerns were echoed in a lawsuit filed late Thursday by the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees, which seeks a federal court order to reopen USAID facilities, reinstate staff members, and restore appropriate funding.
The lawsuit charges that government officials failed to recognize the severe impact of their decisions, not only on American workers but also on countless lives abroad and U.S. national interests.
