FIRINGS ARE NOT LAY OFFS, THEY INDICATE MALEFICENCE
The move was the latest and one of the biggest steps yet toward what President Trump and cost-cutting ally Elon Musk say is their goal of gutting the six-decade-old aid and development agency in a broader campaign to slash the size of the federal government.
Associated Press
Updated on: 24 February 2025
Trump Fires 2,000 USAID Workers And Puts Thousands Of Others On Leave | Photo- AP
The Trump administration said Sunday that it was placing all but a fraction of staffers at the US Agency for International Development on leave worldwide and eliminating 2,000 US-based staff positions.
The move was the latest and one of the biggest steps yet toward what President Donald Trump and cost-cutting ally Elon Musk say is their goal of gutting the six-decade-old aid and development agency in a broader campaign to slash the size of the federal government.
The move comes after a federal judge on Friday allowed the administration to move forward with its plan to pull thousands of USAID staffers off the job in the United States and around the world. US District Judge Carl Nichols rejected pleas in a lawsuit from employees to keep temporarily blocking the government's plan.
"As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally," according to the notices sent to USAID workers that were viewed by The Associated Press.
At the same time, the agency said it was beginning a reduction in force that would eliminate 2,000 US-based staffers. That means many of the Washington-based staffers who are being placed on leave would soon have their positions eliminated.
The Trump appointee running USAID, deputy administrator Pete Marocco, has indicated he plans to keep about 600 mostly US-based staffers on the job in the meantime, in part to arrange travel for USAID staffers and families abroad.
USAID and the State Department did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The move escalates a month-long push to dismantle the agency, which has included closing its headquarters in Washington and shutting down thousands of aid and development programs worldwide following an effort to freeze all foreign assistance. Trump and Musk contend that USAID's work is wasteful and furthers a liberal agenda.
Lawsuits by government workers' unions, USAID contractors and others say the administration lacks the constitutional authority to eliminate an independent agency or congressionally funded programs without lawmakers' approval.
The Trump administration efforts upend decades of US policy that aid and development work overseas serves national security by stabilising regions and economies and building alliances.
The notices of firings and leaves come on top of hundreds of USAID contractors receiving no-name form letters of termination in the past week, according to copies that AP viewed.
The blanket nature of the notification letters to USAID contractors, excluding the names or positions of those receiving them, could make it difficult for the dismissed workers to get unemployment benefits, workers noted.
A different judge in a second lawsuit tied to USAID has temporarily blocked the foreign funding freeze and said this past week that the administration had kept withholding the aid despite his court order and must at least temporarily restore the funding to programmes worldwide.
The move was the latest and one of the biggest steps yet toward what President Trump and cost-cutting ally Elon Musk say is their goal of gutting the six-decade-old aid and development agency in a broader campaign to slash the size of the federal government.
Associated Press
Updated on: 24 February 2025
Trump Fires 2,000 USAID Workers And Puts Thousands Of Others On Leave | Photo- AP
The Trump administration said Sunday that it was placing all but a fraction of staffers at the US Agency for International Development on leave worldwide and eliminating 2,000 US-based staff positions.
The move was the latest and one of the biggest steps yet toward what President Donald Trump and cost-cutting ally Elon Musk say is their goal of gutting the six-decade-old aid and development agency in a broader campaign to slash the size of the federal government.
The move comes after a federal judge on Friday allowed the administration to move forward with its plan to pull thousands of USAID staffers off the job in the United States and around the world. US District Judge Carl Nichols rejected pleas in a lawsuit from employees to keep temporarily blocking the government's plan.
"As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally," according to the notices sent to USAID workers that were viewed by The Associated Press.
At the same time, the agency said it was beginning a reduction in force that would eliminate 2,000 US-based staffers. That means many of the Washington-based staffers who are being placed on leave would soon have their positions eliminated.
The Trump appointee running USAID, deputy administrator Pete Marocco, has indicated he plans to keep about 600 mostly US-based staffers on the job in the meantime, in part to arrange travel for USAID staffers and families abroad.
USAID and the State Department did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The move escalates a month-long push to dismantle the agency, which has included closing its headquarters in Washington and shutting down thousands of aid and development programs worldwide following an effort to freeze all foreign assistance. Trump and Musk contend that USAID's work is wasteful and furthers a liberal agenda.
Lawsuits by government workers' unions, USAID contractors and others say the administration lacks the constitutional authority to eliminate an independent agency or congressionally funded programs without lawmakers' approval.
The Trump administration efforts upend decades of US policy that aid and development work overseas serves national security by stabilising regions and economies and building alliances.
The notices of firings and leaves come on top of hundreds of USAID contractors receiving no-name form letters of termination in the past week, according to copies that AP viewed.
The blanket nature of the notification letters to USAID contractors, excluding the names or positions of those receiving them, could make it difficult for the dismissed workers to get unemployment benefits, workers noted.
A different judge in a second lawsuit tied to USAID has temporarily blocked the foreign funding freeze and said this past week that the administration had kept withholding the aid despite his court order and must at least temporarily restore the funding to programmes worldwide.
Read more Trump's USAID shutdown halts life-saving programmes, threatens global security
Trump administration moves to fire or put on leave nearly all USAID workers
Humanitarian assistance experts have warned agency’s demise will harm vulnerable people and weaken US soft power.
Source: Al Jazeera
Humanitarian assistance experts have warned agency’s demise will harm vulnerable people and weaken US soft power.
A bouquet of white flowers placed outside the headquarters of the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, on February 7, 2025, in Washington, DC, the United States [Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP]
Published On 24 Feb 2025
The administration of United States President Donald Trump is moving to fire or place on leave nearly all employees of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
All USAID employees, with the exception of “designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs”, will be placed on “administrative leave globally” from 11:59pm EST on Sunday (04:59 GMT Monday), the aid agency said in a notice on its website.
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The process of laying off about 1,600 US-based personnel will take place concurrently, according to the notice.
“Individuals that are impacted will receive specific notifications on February 23, 2025, with further instructions and information about their benefits and rights,” the notice said.
“Designated essential personnel who are expected to continue working will be informed by Agency leadership February 23, 2025, by 5 pm EST [22:00 GMT].”
An earlier notice sent to employees had said about 2,000 US-based jobs would be eliminated.
No reason was provided for the discrepancy.
Trump's USAID freeze cripples Bangladesh NGOs and essential services
The move comes after a US judge on Friday cleared the way for the Trump administration to push ahead with its plans to call back thousands of USAID staffers from overseas within 30 days.
“For overseas personnel, USAID intends a voluntary Agency-funded return travel program and other benefits,” USAID’s website said in its notice.
“USAID is committed to keeping its overseas personnel safe. Until they return home, personnel will retain access to Agency systems and to diplomatic and other resources. In the coming week, we will provide details on how to retrieve personal items from the former USAID workspaces and return government issued devices.”
Led by tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, the Trump administration has moved to effectively dismantle the main agency for disbursing US humanitarian assistance abroad.
Musk – who has called USAID a “criminal organization” and a “viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists who hate America” – and other Trump allies have claimed the agency is rife with waste and fraud, and pursues a liberal ideological agenda that is outside the scope of its mission.
Former USAID officials and humanitarian workers have decried Trump’s move, warning that the demise of the aid agency will harm millions of vulnerable people worldwide and weaken US soft power.
“Eliminating US unique response capacity of crisis experts who help contain disease outbreaks, stabilise displaced populations – a shortsighted, high risk and frankly, stupid act,” Marcia Wong, a former deputy assistant administrator for USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, said on X.
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USAID, established in 1961 by former US President John F Kennedy, is the world’s biggest single donor of humanitarian aid, disbursing more than half of Washington’s $72bn foreign aid budget in 2023.
The administration of United States President Donald Trump is moving to fire or place on leave nearly all employees of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
All USAID employees, with the exception of “designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs”, will be placed on “administrative leave globally” from 11:59pm EST on Sunday (04:59 GMT Monday), the aid agency said in a notice on its website.
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The process of laying off about 1,600 US-based personnel will take place concurrently, according to the notice.
“Individuals that are impacted will receive specific notifications on February 23, 2025, with further instructions and information about their benefits and rights,” the notice said.
“Designated essential personnel who are expected to continue working will be informed by Agency leadership February 23, 2025, by 5 pm EST [22:00 GMT].”
An earlier notice sent to employees had said about 2,000 US-based jobs would be eliminated.
No reason was provided for the discrepancy.
Trump's USAID freeze cripples Bangladesh NGOs and essential services
The move comes after a US judge on Friday cleared the way for the Trump administration to push ahead with its plans to call back thousands of USAID staffers from overseas within 30 days.
“For overseas personnel, USAID intends a voluntary Agency-funded return travel program and other benefits,” USAID’s website said in its notice.
“USAID is committed to keeping its overseas personnel safe. Until they return home, personnel will retain access to Agency systems and to diplomatic and other resources. In the coming week, we will provide details on how to retrieve personal items from the former USAID workspaces and return government issued devices.”
Led by tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, the Trump administration has moved to effectively dismantle the main agency for disbursing US humanitarian assistance abroad.
Musk – who has called USAID a “criminal organization” and a “viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists who hate America” – and other Trump allies have claimed the agency is rife with waste and fraud, and pursues a liberal ideological agenda that is outside the scope of its mission.
Former USAID officials and humanitarian workers have decried Trump’s move, warning that the demise of the aid agency will harm millions of vulnerable people worldwide and weaken US soft power.
“Eliminating US unique response capacity of crisis experts who help contain disease outbreaks, stabilise displaced populations – a shortsighted, high risk and frankly, stupid act,” Marcia Wong, a former deputy assistant administrator for USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, said on X.
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USAID, established in 1961 by former US President John F Kennedy, is the world’s biggest single donor of humanitarian aid, disbursing more than half of Washington’s $72bn foreign aid budget in 2023.
Source: Al Jazeera
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