- Trump is starting to shoot about 1,600 USAID workers in the United States.
- Judge cleared way of putting thousands of USAID workers on leave.
- USID A critical tool for “soft force” to winning influence.
President Donald Trump’s administration said on Sunday that it placed all staff in the foreign aid agency USAID, except leaders and critical staff, on paid administrative leave and eliminated 1,600 positions in the United States.
Billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has led effort to gut the US Agency for International Development, the main delivery mechanism of US foreign aid and a critical tool for us “soft power” to winning influence abroad.
“I’m sorry to inform you that you are affected by a reduction in the power action,” said an e -mail sent to one of the workers that was fired that was reviewed by Reuters. Those who got the note will be escaped from federal service with effect 24 April, says the E email.
USAID said on its website that just before midnight on Sunday US Eastern Time, all direct employment except important workers will be put on leave, and 1,600 USAID staff in the United States would be cut.
A previous message sent to staff and reviewed by Reuters said about 2,000 US positions would be removed.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Friday, a federal judge for the Trump administration to put thousands of USAID workers on leave, a setback for the government’s staff associations that sues what they have called an effort to run it.
Two former Senior USAID officials estimated that a majority of approx. 4,600 USAID staff, career US officials and foreign services would be placed on administrative leave.
“This administration and secretary (by the state of Marco) Rubio is short -sighted to cut into the expertise and the unique crisis response capacity in the United States,” said Marcia Wong, one of the former officials.
“When disease outbreaks occur, populations are displaced, these USAID experts are on Earth and are first inserted to help stabilize and provide assistance.”
Trump ordered a 90-day break on foreign aid shortly after joining the accession on January 20, stopping funding to everything from programs fighting hunger and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe.
The administration has approved exceptions to the freezer totaling $ 5.3 billion, mostly for security and maturity narcotics programs, according to a list of exceptions reviewed by Reuters that included limited humanitarian relief.
USAID programs received less than $ 100 million in exceptions compared to approx. $ 40 billion in programs, it managed annually before the freezer.
