2K USAID Staffers Fired

The Trump administration said Sunday it is eliminating 2,000 positions at the US Agency for International Development and placing all but a fraction of other staffers worldwide on leave. It comes after a federal judge on Friday allowed the administration to move forward with pulling thousands of USAID staffers off the job in the US 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. A notice sent to USAID workers on Sunday said "all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership, and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally."

At the same time, the agency said it is cutting the US-based workforce by about 2,000 employees. This comes after hundreds of USAID contractors received no-name form letters of termination over the weekend. The move escalates a monthlong administration assault on the agency that has closed its headquarters in Washington and shut down thousands of USAID and development programs worldwide following an effort to freeze foreign assistance. President Trump and his chief cost-cutter, Elon Musk, contend the aid and development work is wasteful and furthers a liberal agenda. Recent reports indicated the administration planned to all but 290 of USAID's more than 10,000 positions.

Citing a big concern for workers stationed overseas who have reported being cut off from government communications, the notices say overseas personnel will retain access to Agency resources until they return home. The administration said they would also receive return travel assistance. The judge said the government's statements persuaded him that the risk to overseas employees "if there is any—is far more minimal than it initially appeared." (More USAID stories.)