Nearly 100 USAID staff put on leave amid agency restructuring

3/2/2025 5:57

The Trump administration

over the weekend put on administrative leave dozens more staff

at U.S. Agency for International Development, three sources

familiar with the move said, as it moves to abolish the agency's

independence and bring it under the control of the State

Department.



Nearly 30 career staff in the agency's Legislative and

Public Affairs bureau lost access overnight to their emails, the

sources said, bringing the total number of senior USAID career

staff who have been put on leave over the past week close to

100.



Two senior officials overseeing the agency's security

operations were also put on administrative leave after refusing

to hand over classified documents to Elon Musk's Department of

Government Efficiency (DOGE) officials, one of the sources said.



Matt Hopson, who was appointed as chief of staff by the

Trump administration, has resigned, five sources familiar with

the matter said. A congressional source said his resignation

followed the security personnel being put on leave. USAID did

not respond to a request about Hopson.



The purge follows more than a week of mayhem inside USAID,

Washington's primary agency funding billions of dollars' worth

of life-saving aid globally. President Donald Trump ordered a

freeze on almost all U.S. foreign aid, saying his administration

will review spending to ensure money is distributed in line with

his "America First" foreign policy.



The global freeze on most of U.S. foreign aid is already

sending shockwaves around the world. Field hospitals in Thai

refugee camps, landmine clearance in war zones, and drugs to

treat millions suffering from diseases such as HIV are among the

programs at risk of elimination.



U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Brian Mast on

Sunday said that he supported moving USAID under the State

Department and that there needs to be "more command and

control".



Asked on CBS' "Face the Nation" if congressional approval

was needed or whether Trump could act unilaterally, Mast did not

answer but said restructuring was needed.



The "purging of people throughout the State Department,

other agencies" and freezing aid were "all very important and

necessary steps to make sure that we secure America," he said.



Representatives for the State Department and USAID did not

immediately respond to requests for comment.



Meanwhile, billionaire Trump ally Musk on Sunday continued

to slam the State Department and USAID in his posts and reposts

on X. Trump has tasked Musk with leading a federal cost-cutting

panel with broad oversight powers. Officials from DOGE have made

frequent visits to USAID headquarters in Washington.



On Sunday, Musk accused USAID of being "a criminal

organization" without providing any evidence and added "Time for

it to die".



Peter Marocco was appointed as head of the Office of Foreign

Assistance at the State Department and is leading the agency's

sweeping changes, according to three sources familiar with the

matter. Marocco previously served in Trump's first

administration in the Department of Defense. The State

Department did not respond to questions about Marocco.



USAID's website has been down since Saturday afternoon, a

sign that the end is near for the agency, whose funding goes to

programs on everything from women's health in conflict zones to

access to clean water, HIV/AIDS treatments, energy security and

anti-corruption work.



Reuters reported on Friday that the National Security

Council hosted discussions this week on the topic and that the

White House was exploring legal authorities that Trump could use

to issue an executive order to end USAID's independence.