The Trump administration unveiled a plan on Thursday to significantly reduce staffing levels globally for U.S. aid projects as part of its efforts to overhaul the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). This plan would result in retaining less than 300 employees out of the thousands currently working for the agency. Following this announcement, federal workers’ associations promptly filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the shutdown, contending that President Donald Trump does not possess the authority to shut down an agency established by congressional legislation.
The administration’s plan was disclosed to the remaining senior officials of the agency on Thursday, as relayed by two current USAID employees and a former senior USAID official who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity due to a directive from the Trump administration prohibiting USAID staff from communicating with external entities. Under this plan, the workforce would be reduced to less than 300 employees, a drastic decrease from the current 8,000 direct hires and contractors. The remaining employees, in addition to an unspecified number of 5,000 locally recruited international staff stationed overseas, would be responsible for running the limited number of life-saving programs that the administration intends to maintain for the time being.
It remains unclear whether the reduction to 300 employees would be permanent or temporary, potentially allowing for the return of more workers following a review by the administration to determine which aid and development programs it plans to reinstate. Earlier this week, almost all USAID staff members stationed abroad were given a 30-day notice, beginning Friday, to return to the United States, with the government covering their travel and relocation expenses. Those who opt to stay beyond the designated timeframe, unless granted a specific hardship exemption, might be required to cover their own costs, as indicated in a notice on the USAID website issued late Thursday.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking during a visit to the Dominican Republic on Thursday, affirmed that the U.S. government will continue providing foreign aid. “But it is going to be foreign aid that makes sense and is aligned with our national interest,” he asserted to reporters. The Trump administration, in conjunction with billionaire ally Elon Musk overseeing a budget-slashing Department of Government Efficiency, has singled out USAID as a primary target in an unprecedented challenge against various federal government programs.
Since President Trump’s inauguration on January 20, a sweeping funding freeze has led to the closure of most of USAID’s programs worldwide, with nearly all employees placed on administrative leave or furlough. Musk and Trump have discussed the prospect of abolishing USAID as an independent agency and transferring surviving programs under the State Department. Democratic lawmakers and other critics have decried this move as illegal without congressional consent.
The American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees echoed this sentiment in their lawsuit, urging the federal court in Washington to compel the reopening of USAID facilities, reinstate its workforce, and restore funding. The lawsuit contends that
