‘We have placed a number of USAID employees on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice,’ USAID’s acting administrator said.
Officials who work at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have been placed on leave because they allegedly tried to find a way around executive orders from President Donald Trump, according to a memorandum sent to agency staffers on Jan. 27.
New leadership at USAID identified several actions in the agency that “appeared to be designed to circumvent the President’s Executive Orders and the mandate from the American people,” USAID’s acting administrator, Jason Gray, said in the memo.
“As a result, we have placed a number of USAID employees on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice while we complete our analysis of these actions,” he added.
USAID did not respond to a request for more information. It was not clear how many USAID officials have been placed on leave.
“People are calling it the Monday afternoon massacre,” according to Francisco Bencosme, who was USAID’s China policy lead until earlier this month. “This decision undermines our national security and emboldens our adversaries. … Instead of focusing on China, North Korea, or Russia, the Trump Administration is going after public servants who have served multiple administrations—including the first Trump administration.”
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement that the move was harmful and had no benefit. He described the officials removed as apolitical.
USAID is an independent federal agency that leads U.S. efforts on international development and humanitarian assistance to other countries. Examples of the agency’s work include providing resources to foreign farmers and helping countries establish and improve schools.
Republicans have been critical of some USAID priorities, including providing funds to Afghanistan to distribute contraceptives.
“USAID needs to be dismantled,” Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) wrote on social media platform X on Monday.
Trump has signed a flurry of executive orders since taking office. Some pertain to USAID and the State Department, with which USAID works regularly.
