- USAID announced nearly all staff will be put on administrative leave starting Friday at midnight.
- There will be exceptions for some mission-critical functions and core leadership.
- Elon Musk said he spent the weekend feeding the agency “into the wood chipper.”
The US Agency for International Development, or USAID, will place nearly all of its direct-hire workforce on administrative leave starting Friday at midnight, according to an email sent to staff on Tuesday evening and posted on the agency’s website.
“On Friday, February 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST) all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally,” the email stated, noting there would be exceptions for “designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.” Those deemed essential will be notified by Thursday afternoon.
For international staff, the agency plans to coordinate with the State Department to arrange return travel to the US within 30 days and terminate non-essential contracts. The email indicated employees could request exceptions for personal circumstances like medical issues, pregnancy, or children’s school schedules.
The announcement follows Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s January 24 pause on new funding authorizations and Monday’s sudden closure of USAID’s Washington offices. On early Monday morning, Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency, posted on X that he “spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper.”
The changes will reshape an agency that manages about 0.47% of the federal budget in fiscal year 2024 and oversees humanitarian programs across 65 countries, including emergency food assistance and medical services in some of the world’s poorest regions.
“I feel oddly OK. Like they don’t have it together and won’t any time soon,” a 15-year veteran of the agency told Business Insider shortly after the email was sent. “They don’t know what the plan is for USAID or State, and are seemingly taking pride in dismantling global aid when so many people depend on us worldwide for lifesaving services. They are doing nothing but creating more and bigger global security problems.”
USAID, the State Department, and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment from BI.
