Trump Appointees Fire 2,000 U.S.A.I.D. Employees and Put Others Worldwide on Leave
The announcement, by email, came two days after a judge said the Trump administration could proceed with plans that amount to dismantling the aid agency.
The mass firings are part of a series of layoffs of agency employees by the Trump administration during a broad effort to halt almost all U.S. foreign aid using a blanket freeze.Credit...Eric Lee/The New York Times
By Edward Wong
Reporting from Washington
- Feb. 23, 2025
Trump administration appointees in charge of the U.S. Agency for International Development sent employees an email on Sunday afternoon saying that they were firing 2,000 workers and putting up to thousands of foreign service officers and other direct hires around the world on paid leave starting that night.
The only exceptions to the leave would be people working on “mission-critical programs,” as well as “core leadership” and employees supporting “specially designated programs,” according to a copy of the email obtained by The New York Times.
The email said appointees running U.S.A.I.D. were firing 2,000 employees based in the United States using a mechanism called “reduction in force.” The mass firings are part of a series of layoffs of agency employees by the Trump administration during a broad effort to halt almost all U.S. foreign aid using a blanket freeze.
The moves came after a judge ruled on Friday that the Trump administration could proceed with plans to lay off or put on paid leave many agency employees and close down operations overseas, which means forcing employees based abroad to come back to the United States. Some of those employees say they expect to be fired once they return home.
Trump Appointees Fire 2,000 U.S.A.I.D. Employees and Put Others Worldwide on Leave
The announcement, by email, came two days after a judge said the Trump administration could proceed with plans that amount to dismantling the aid agency.
