President Donald Trump will fire about 9,400 workers from USAID, deeming only 611 as essential employees, as he pledges to “close down” the entire Government agency. The Mail has more.
Trump’s administration originally planned to keep fewer than 300 staff at the US Agency for International Development but that number has now risen, according a notice sent to the agency late Thursday night.
Trump said he was closing down the entire agency.
On Friday morning, he wrote on his Truth Social [in block capitals]: “USAID is driving the radical Left crazy, and there is nothing they can do about it because the way in which the money has been spent, so much of it fraudulently, is totally unexplainable. The corruption is at levels rarely seen before. Close it down!”
USAID was the first target of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is sweeping through the federal Government, cutting spending and the workforce.
Musk has called the agency a “criminal organisation” and criticised its spending on foreign aid.
“Your tax dollars should be spent on America or the Government should just tax you less,” he wrote on X on Tuesday.
The remaining USAID staff includes employees who specialise in health and humanitarian assistance, the New York Times reported.
When the original 300 number was floated, staff at the agency had pushed to keep more people on board, citing critical lifesaving humanitarian work.
Senior staff submitted a list of around 600 people to State Department leadership, calling their work essential and saying it could not be disrupted.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved the list of employees who are staying.
But about 800 awards and contracts administered through the agency are being cancelled.
USAID’s Washington DC office has been closed and protesters have been surrounding the building.
Additionally, earlier this week, the administration gave USAID staffers posted overseas 30 days, starting Friday, to return to the US, with the Government paying for their travel and moving costs.
Workers who choose to stay longer, unless they received a specific hardship waiver, may have to cover their own expenses.
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