Trump administration slashing USAID workforce to fewer than 300 employees: Reports

The government's foremost foreign aid agency is being gutted.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) workforce is being slashed from more than 10,000 employees to fewer than 300, according to reports published in Wired, Reuters, The New York Times and NPR.

The State Department declined to comment. Neither USAID nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment from The Hill.

Essential personnel was to be notified by 3 p.m. EST Thursday, per a message posted on the USAID website, which has been otherwise dark since last weekend when Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) started shutting thousands of employees out of internal systems, causing chaos and concern about the future of the more than 60-year-old agency.

Democratic members of Congress have called the takeover illegal, unconstitutional, and a coup and vowed to hold up President Trump's State Department picks until the president backs off his threats to restructure the independent agency.

But the onslaught has been swift.

Over the past week, staffers were locked out of their accounts one by one, relying on elaborate Signal networks for intel — and support.

"USAID is a very collaborative organization. People look out for each other," one USAID employee said Thursday. "They put the organization and the people we serve above themselves, which is what I love about working there."

The agency, in recent days, has been the subject of numerous attacks from the Trump administration and Musk, who called it a "ball of worms."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted some of USAID's "insane programs" this week, including $47,000 for a "transgender opera in Colombia," which the nonprofit newsroom NOTUS debunked Wednesday.

Politico also had to publish a note "to set the record straight" after outcry over the millions of dollars that agencies including USAID have paid to access the outlet's "Pro" platform.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was appointed this week as acting administrator of USAID, told reporters while traveling in the Dominican Republic Thursday that the government is "not trying to be disruptive to people's personal lives."

"We're not being punitive here. But this is the only way we've been able to get cooperation from USAID," he said.

Thousands of workers have been kept in the dark as this drama has unfolded, however, and have expressed fear for their futures and those they supported.

And USAID employees abroad, which the Congressional Research Service says make up two-thirds of the workforce, face a logistical nightmare.

"We are now finding ourselves stranded," one USAID employee told The Hill Wednesday, adding they have "no clear way of getting home."

USAID has said it will arrange and pay for return travel to the U.S. within 30 days. But returning thousands of families may prove an enormous challenge, particularly as many packed up their lives to take on these jobs and don't have a "home" to return to.

The employee called the uncertainty "crippling."

"It's an understatement to say this is devastating," they said.

Topics

CIA offers buyouts to workforce as Trump administration continues efforts to scale back government

The CIA has offered so-called buyouts to its workforce, a CIA spokesperson said, the latest move by the Trump administration to overhaul and scale back the federal government.
NBC News - 1d
BioWare Reportedly Has Fewer Than 100 Staff Members Left

Soon after EA's announcement that Dragon Age: The Veilguard failed to meet the company's expectations, BioWare staffers revealed that they were laid off , in addition to those moved to other ...
GameSpot - 3d
Democrats slam Trump over reports he'll merge USAID with State Department

Democrats on Friday slammed President Trump over recent news reports that he is considering merging the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) with the State Department. “It is ...
The Hill - 5d
Mark Zuckerberg Defends Embrace of Trump Administration in Meta Employee Q&A

In a meeting with Meta employees on Thursday, Mr. Zuckerberg also doubled down on recent changes to the company’s online speech policies and ending its diversity initiatives.
The New York Times - Jan. 30
Fewer than half in new poll trust Trump, RFK Jr. to make right recommendations on health issues

Fewer than half of Americans in a new poll say they trust President Trump or his health-related nominees to make recommendations on the nation's pressing health care issues. The latest KFF survey, ...
The Hill - Jan. 28
More than 50 career civil servants at USAID are placed on administrative leave

The action targeted senior leadership across the agency, including top lawyers, three sources told NBC News.
NBC News - Jan. 28
Ukraine Is Losing Fewer Soldiers Than Russia — but It’s Still Losing the War

Russia has lost about twice as many men to death and serious injury as Ukraine. But the trends favor the Kremlin.
The New York Times - Jan. 23
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Had Far Fewer Players Than EA Expected

EA has announced that Dragon Age: The Veilguard and EA Sports FC 25 underperformed its expectations.. EA confirmed the underperformance of the RPG and sports game while sharing preliminary ...
GameSpot - Jan. 22
Trump’s RTO Plans Could Slash Federal Employee Head Count

The threat of DOGE-led job cuts may get further backing as the president vows to require government staffers to work in person five days a week.
Inc. - Jan. 20