World
India
Thousands of workers at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are facing abrupt terminations or administrative leave as the Trump administration moves to dismantle the foreign aid agency. Employees have been granted a narrow 15-minute window on Thursday and Friday to retrieve their belongings from their workspaces, according to official notices.
Mass Layoffs and Administrative Leave
On Monday, USAID placed 4,080 employees on administrative leave, affecting staff stationed across the globe. An additional 1,600 workers will lose their jobs as part of a “reduction in force,” according to a State Department spokesperson.
The sweeping cuts come as part of President Donald Trump’s broader initiative, in collaboration with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency project, to drastically reduce the size of the federal government. USAID has emerged as one of the primary targets of the administration’s downsizing efforts. The latest actions leave only a small fraction of the agency’s workforce in place.
Trump and Musk have justified the shutdown by criticizing USAID’s programs as misaligned with the president’s foreign policy objectives. The administration has claimed, without providing evidence, that the agency’s work is wasteful.
Legal and Congressional Implications on USAID Dismantling
Despite USAID being established through congressional authorization, the administration’s moves have bypassed Congress. A recent Congressional Research Service report indicated that dismantling or consolidating USAID would require congressional approval. However, Republican-controlled majorities in both the House and Senate have not pushed back against the administration’s actions.
The administration has already eliminated more than 90% of USAID’s foreign aid contracts, amounting to $60 billion in assistance across the globe.
It remains unclear how many of the more than 5,600 affected employees are based at USAID’s Washington headquarters. Employees stationed in other locations will be given opportunities to collect their belongings at a later date, according to the agency.
A notice on the USAID website outlines detailed instructions for affected workers. Employees will be screened by security before being escorted to their former workstations. Those laid off are required to return all USAID-issued property. Workers on administrative leave have been instructed to retain their diplomatic passports and other agency-issued items until further notice.
Efforts to Dismantle USAID
Several lawsuits have been filed against the administration’s efforts to dismantle USAID. However, court challenges to temporarily halt the agency’s closure have so far been unsuccessful.
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to release billions of dollars in frozen U.S. foreign aid, criticizing the government for failing to comply with his earlier ruling. The next day, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked that order. Chief Justice John Roberts stated that the freeze will remain in place until the court has had more time to consider the case.
The lawsuit was brought by nonprofit organizations affected by the sudden halt of USAID and State Department foreign assistance. Trump froze the funds through an executive order on his first day in office, targeting programs he labeled as wasteful and misaligned with his administration’s goals.
