Trump administration firing 2,000 USAid workers and putting thousands on leave

The Trump administration said on Sunday that it is eliminating 2,000 posts at the US Agency for International Development (USAid) and placing all but a fraction of others worldwide on leave.

The notices were sent to USAid workers and viewed by The Associated Press.

It comes after a federal judge allowed the administration to move forward with pulling thousands of USAid staffers off the job in the United States and around the world.

US District Judge Carl Nichols rejected pleas that came in a lawsuit from employees to keep temporarily blocking the government’s plan.

“As of 11.59pm 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 programmes, will be placed on administrative leave globally,” according to the notices sent to USAid workers and viewed by The Associated Press.

At the same time, the agency said it is cutting the US-based workforce by about 2,000 employees.

Assault

The move escalates a month-long administration assault on the agency that has closed its headquarters in Washington and shut down thousands of US aid and development programmes worldwide following an effort to freeze foreign assistance.

President Donald Trump and his chief cost-cutter, Elon Musk, contend the aid and development work is wasteful and furthers a liberal agenda.

Citing a big concern for workers stationed overseas who have reported being cut off from government communications, the notices say that “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”.

The administration said employees put on leave overseas are expected to receive “voluntary Agency-funded return travel” and other benefits.

Judge Nichols, who was nominated by Mr Trump, said he had been “very concerned” about workers in high-risk areas left overseas without access to emergency communications.

Reassured

But he said he has since been reassured by the administration that workers would still have access to two-way radios that allow 24–7 communications in emergencies, as well as a phone app with a “panic button”.

The judge said the government’s statements persuaded him “that the risk posed to USAid employees who are placed on administrative leave while stationed abroad – if there is any – is far more minimal than it initially appeared”.

The notices of firings and leaves come on top of hundreds of USAid contractors receiving no-name form letters of termination over the weekend, according to copies that AP viewed.

The blanket nature of the notification letters to USAid contractors, excluding the names or positions of those receiving it, could make it difficult for the dismissed workers to get unemployment benefits, workers noted.

A different judge in a second lawsuit tied to the dismantling of USAid has temporarily blocked the freeze on foreign assistance 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.