USAID Staff Get 15 Minutes to Clear Desks Amid Shutdown

In a significant development that marks the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to restructure federal agencies, thousands of staff members at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have faced job termination or been placed on administrative leave. This week, the affected personnel are being given just a brief period to collect their possessions as the agency undergoes a major reduction in force.

On Monday, USAID placed approximately 4,080 employees, who are stationed around the world, on leave. This move is accompanied by a “reduction in force” strategy set to impact an additional 1,600 staff members, as confirmed by a spokesperson from the State Department. This workforce adjustment is part of a broader initiative by President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency, spearheaded by Elon Musk, aimed at reducing the size of the federal government. Consequently, only a limited number of USAID employees will remain engaged with their work.

The Trump administration, with Musk’s collaboration, has decisively targeted USAID for closure, citing that its programs clash with the administration’s priorities and making unfounded claims of wastefulness. The approach to dismantling USAID is notable as it bypasses congressional involvement, despite Congress originally authorizing and funding the agency’s operations. According to a recent Congressional Research Service report, congressional approval is necessary to legally abolish or restructure USAID, yet there has been minimal resistance from Republican lawmakers, despite the extent of the cuts. The administration has already opted to discontinue more than 90% of USAID’s foreign aid contracts, amounting to a reduction of $60 billion in U.S. global assistance.

The specifics regarding how many of the over 5,600 affected USAID employees work at the Washington D.C. headquarters remain unclear. However, the agency’s website indicates that staff members located elsewhere may gather personal belongings at a later scheduled time. Procedural instructions have been detailed by USAID, designating times for different groups of employees to be screened and guided to their former offices to retrieve personal items. Those whose positions have been terminated must return all assets issued by USAID. Conversely, personnel currently on leave have been advised to retain their USAID-provided materials, such as diplomatic passports, until their official separation from the agency.

For many USAID workers, the conditions imposed for collecting belongings have sparked discontent. The notice also explicitly warned employees not to carry weapons, such as firearms, “spear guns,” or “hand grenades,” as they are allocated a mere 15 minutes at their old workstations.

Though legal efforts to contest the federal government’s widespread downsizing initiatives are underway, they have largely failed to postpone USAID’s shutdown. Nevertheless, a federal judge recently mandated the Trump administration to release billions of dollars in U.S. foreign aid by the week’s end, spotlighting the government’s non-compliance with a prior order to alleviate the funding stop. On Wednesday evening, the Supreme Court temporarily restrained that directive, with Chief Justice John Roberts indicating it will be paused until a more comprehensive review by the justices.

This court action is the outcome of a lawsuit filed by nonprofit groups impacted by the cessation of foreign assistance managed by USAID and the State Department. Trump had initially halted the aid through an executive order upon taking office, targeting programs he deemed incoherent with his foreign policy stance.

Representative Gerald Connolly, a Democrat from Virginia whose constituency includes a significant portion of federal employees, has issued a statement condemning the USAID employee layoffs as “unwarranted and unprecedented.” Connolly lauded the agency’s workers as integral to what he described as the “world’s premier development and foreign assistance agency,” which he credited with saving “millions of lives every year.”