USAID contractors fire staff, face cash crunch as Trump causes chaos

4/2/2025 19:05

President Donald Trump's overhaul of U.S. foreign assistance has led to chaos in the aid and development field, leaving hundreds of contractors in a severe financial crunch with some already having to lay off staff and others facing millions of dollars in unpaid invoices.



Hours after coming into office on Jan. 20, Trump ordered a sweeping review of almost all U.S. foreign aid and tasked billionaire Elon Musk, who has falsely accused USAID of being a "criminal" organization, with scaling down the agency.



Since then, dozens of USAID staff has been put on leave, hundreds of internal contractors have been laid off, while Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency employees have gutted the agency that is Washington's primary humanitarian arm, providing billions of dollars worth of aid worldwide.