Trump Will Place Almost All USAID Staff on Leave

UPDATE Feb 5, 2025 12:30 AM CST

As expected, the Trump administration announced Tuesday night that almost all USAID employees will be placed on administrative leave Friday night. Nearly all workers currently overseas will be pulled from the field and returned to the US within 30 days, other than those deemed essential, the AP reports. The official notice posted on USAID's website says exceptions can be requested in cases involving personal or familial hardship, safety concerns, or similar reasons. The American Foreign Service Association, the union representing US diplomats, says it is preparing a legal action to fight the move, but the AP notes USAID workers based in the US have little recourse.

Feb 4, 2025 4:54 PM CST

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that he was the acting administrator of USAID and some of the embattled agency's work would continue—but there may not be many staffers left for him to oversee. Sources tell Politico that President Trump's administration is planning to place almost all of the agency's Washington, DC-based staff on leave. The insiders say that 1,400 people will be notified of the move Tuesday night, days after around 600 others were placed on leave. The sources say Rubio's team approved the move. Elon Musk said Monday that it was time for the foreign aid agency to "die" and President Trump agreed that it should be shut down.

Rubio said Monday that he had appointed Pete Marocco, director of foreign assistance at the State Department, to run the agency and review its work, NBC News reports. Rubio said that while the review wasn't about ending USAID's work "per se," it could lead to the "suspension or elimination of programs, projects or activities; closing or suspending missions or posts; closing, reorganizing, downsizing, or renaming establishments, organizations, bureaus, centers, or offices; reducing the size of the workforce at such entities and contracting out or privatizing functions or activities performed by federal employees." Congressional Democrats who went to USAID headquarters Monday were denied entry. (More USAID stories.)