Feb. 5 (UPI) — The United States Agency for International Development announced that a majority of its workers will be placed on leave on Friday.
The notice stated that all direct hire workers would be placed on leave by the end of hte week as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk try to shut the agency funded by Congress down, impacting thousands of workers.
“On Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. EST all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs,” the USAID statement said. “Essential personnel expected to continue working will be informed by Agency leadership by Thursday, Feb. 6, at 3:00 p.m. EST.”
The agency added that all workers outside the United States would be returned within 30 days, with USAID paying for the travel.
The agency is being dismantled by Trump and Musk, who are bypassing Congress to hand USAID over to Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s control.
In a press conference outside USAID’s Washington headquarters, Democratic lawmakers blasted the dismantling of the foreign aid agency.
“Until and unless this brazenly authoritarian action is reversed and USAID is functional again, I will be placing a blanket hold on all of the Trump administration’s State Department nominees. This is self-inflicted chaos of epic proportions that will have dangerous consequences all around the world,” Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said.
He said this dismantling of USAID is illegal, because it was created by law funded by Congress.
Congress is a separate and equal branch of the U.S. federal government with constitutional power over funding.
On X Tuesday, Sen. Schatz said, “First it was USAID. Now they are going into the Small Business Administration, the Treasury, and they will not stop until they believe they have total control.”
He added that is not the way American government is supposed to work.
USAID works in 60 nations around the world with funds going to more than a hundred countries.
According to the American Foreign Service Association, the Trump administration has decided to dismantle USAID. The AFSA represents 1,800 Foreign Service Officers at USAID.
AFSA said it is a subversion of congressional authority and the action undermines American leadership globally because USAID “directly supports U.S. security and global stability.”
USAID administers billions of dollars in humanitarian aid internationally with funding approved by Congress under the Foreign Assistance Act going to more than 100 countries.
USAID was given legal independence by Congress under the 1998 Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act.
According to the Congressional Research Service, a president does not have legal authority abolish, move or consolidate USAID.
Presidential authority to reorganize USAID expired in 1999.
“Congress has not granted the President further authority to abolish, move, or consolidate USAID since,” the Congressional Research Service said in a statement.
