Big Changes at USAID: Agency Puts Staff on Leave After Trump’s Threat
Share

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced a big decision: starting from Friday, February 7, 2025, all its direct hire staff will be put on leave. However, this won’t affect the top leaders and those working on very important projects.
This comes right after President Donald Trump threatened to close down the agency because he believes it’s corrupt. The agency said that they will tell the essential staff who can continue working by Thursday, February 6.
Putting all these staff members on leave is worrying because it might interrupt the good work USAID does around the world. The agency helps with health problems and food shortages and helps countries build better economies in over 100 countries.
The agency is already dealing with a lot of criticism, especially from Trump and billionaire Elon Musk. Musk recently said that he talked with Trump, who agreed that USAID should be closed down.
This talk happened after some days of uncertainty about the agency’s future when its money was stopped, and many employees were temporarily stopped from working.
Background: Trump and Musk’s Recent Criticisms of USAID
The announcement comes amid growing scrutiny of USAID’s role and effectiveness, with notable criticisms from U.S. President Donald Trump and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.
On Monday, Elon Musk said President Donald Trump had agreed the USAID needs to be “shut down,” following days of speculation over the future of the agency after its funding was frozen and dozens of its employees were put on leave.
“With regards to the USAID stuff, I went over it with (the president) in detail and he agreed that we should shut it down,” Musk said in an X Spaces conversation.
Musk said he checked with Trump “a few times” and Trump confirmed he wants to shut down the agency, which dispenses billions in humanitarian aid and development funding annually. CNN has reached out to the White House and USAID for comment.
Before the X Spaces conversation, when asked for comment on USAID, Trump told reporters: “It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics, and we’re getting them out, and then we’ll make a decision” on its future.
To manage these changes, USAID is working with the Department of State to bring back staff who are working in other countries. They plan to pay for their travel back to the U.S. within 30 days and will end some contracts unless they are very necessary.
They also mentioned that they might allow some people to come back later if they have personal issues or safety concerns.
As these changes unfold, there might be more updates from USAID on how this will affect their projects around the world, like the recent $2.3 million they promised to help fight malaria in Nigeria.