Thousands of USAID employees are being placed on administrative leave as the agency undergoes significant cuts, shrinking its workforce from over 5,000 to approximately 290. This move has drawn criticism from unions and legal challenges alleging that the administration is unlawfully dismantling the agency.
Thousands of USAID employees received notification this week that they would be placed on administrative leave starting at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, amidst significant cuts to the federal workforce . The U.S. Agency for International Development is projected to shrink to approximately 290 employees from its current staff of over 5,000, encompassing foreign service officers, civil servants, and personal service contractors.
Most of the roughly 3,000 Institutional Support Contractors have already been terminated or furloughed. The fate of the approximately 5,000 foreign service nationals working around the world remains uncertain. While bureaus such as Humanitarian Assistance, Global Health, and Management are anticipated to retain the largest number of staff, the planned reductions are drastic. Under this plan, only 12 individuals would be dedicated to the entire continent of Africa, and eight to all of Asia. Europe, which previously had approximately 600 dedicated employees in 2024 across both field and D.C. offices, will now be serviced by a mere 10 people.Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the actions during a joint media availability with Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader in Santo Domingo on Thursday, stating that they were not intended to be disruptive. He emphasized that the administration was not being punitive but that this was the only way to achieve cooperation from USAID. Rubio acknowledged that exceptions would be made for employees facing extraordinary circumstances, assuring that they were willing to listen to such requests. However, the American Foreign Service Association, a union representing 1,800 foreign service officers employed by USAID, and the American Federation of Government Employees, filed a lawsuit on Thursday, alleging that efforts to dismantle the foreign assistance agency have triggered a global humanitarian crisis by abruptly halting the crucial work of USAID employees, grantees, and contractors. The lawsuit contends that none of the defendants' actions to dismantle USAID were authorized by Congress, which, according to federal statute, is the sole entity with the legal authority to disband the agency. The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction from a federal court in Washington, D.C., directing the administration to halt its shutdown of operations at the agency. The American Foreign Service Association had previously criticized the Trump administration's decision to recall foreign service personnel from overseas on Wednesday, calling it a punishment of dedicated public servants and a detriment to their families for simply doing their jobs. They also warned of the significant financial and logistical burden this decision would impose on American taxpayers, costing tens of millions of dollars and overwhelming the personnel system responsible for managing the evacuation. The actions taken at USAID are part of a broader pattern of efforts by the Trump administration to drastically reduce the federal workforce
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