The Trump administration announced Sunday that it is eliminating 2,000 U.S.-based positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) while placing most of the agency’s global workforce on administrative leave.
The move follows a ruling by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who denied a request from labor unions to block the cuts. Nichols found claims of harm from potential firings to be “far more minimal than it initially appeared.”
According to notices sent to employees, all USAID personnel—except those responsible for mission-critical functions, leadership, and designated programs—were placed on administrative leave as of 11:59 p.m. EST Sunday.
The restructuring aligns with the administration’s broader plan to dismantle USAID and absorb its functions into the State Department. The agency, which employs over 10,000 people worldwide, will be reduced to just 294 “essential staff.”
Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, has targeted USAID as part of its broader effort to slash government spending, a move that has drawn legal challenges and pushback from humanitarian organizations.
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