Trump administration targets dozens of senior USAID staff after aid freeze

28/1/2025 12:02

The Trump administration has put on leave about 60 senior career officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), sources familiar with the matter said, after Washington put a sweeping freeze on U.S. aid worldwide.



The administration on Saturday urged USAID staff to help transform how Washington allocates aid around the world in line with Trump's "America First" policy and threatened "disciplinary action" for any staff ignoring its orders.



An internal memo sent to USAID employees on Monday evening said the new leadership identified several actions in the agency that "appeared to be designed to circumvent the President's Executive Orders and the mandate from the American people."



The administration's actions threaten billions of dollars of life-saving aid from the world's largest single donor. In fiscal year 2023, the U.S. disbursed $72 billion in assistance. It provided 42% of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024.



The memo did not spell out how many people were affected by the decision, but six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that it was around 57 to 60 people.