Recent actions by appointees of the Trump administration at the United States Agency for International Development (U.S.A.I.D.) have resulted in the termination of hundreds of employees responsible for managing responses to urgent global humanitarian crises, as reported by two U.S. officials and four recent agency employees.
The dismissals have raised concerns regarding Secretary of State Marco Rubio's commitment to enabling U.S.A.I.D. employees to provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance, a promise he made last month amid a comprehensive freeze on nearly all foreign aid from the U.S. government.
Since the Trump administration took office, thousands of U.S.A.I.D. employees have been either fired or placed on paid leave. A task force of engineers associated with Elon Musk, who is advising President Trump, has reportedly deactivated many technical systems within the agency and restricted employee access to their email accounts. Musk has also made unfounded claims on social media, labeling U.S.A.I.D. a "criminal organization" and suggesting it should be dismantled.
The latest wave of firings occurred on Friday night, impacting hundreds of staff in the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, who received generic termination emails lacking specific job titles or recipient names. Employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity did so to avoid jeopardizing their severance pay.
Additionally, 36 employees were dismissed from the Office of Transition Initiatives, which focuses on aiding political transitions and democratic initiatives in partner countries. Approximately 400 individuals were let go from humanitarian assistance roles, including around 200 contractors and 200 members of the Support Relief Group, a team of crisis experts. This has left only about a dozen individuals in the Support Relief Group.
The terminated employees included contractors who had dedicated up to 25 years of service to U.S.A.I.D., many of whom had worked in conflict zones such as Ukraine, Syria, and Afghanistan. One employee noted that they were scheduled to return home from a diplomatic mission next week.
The mass dismissals have left the agency with a significantly reduced capacity to respond to humanitarian crises. Pete Marocco, a State Department official with a controversial history in previous administrations, is currently overseeing U.S.A.I.D. operations. Rubio has taken on the role of acting administrator for the agency.
Rubio announced a 90-day halt on all foreign aid while a review process is conducted. However, many officials and contractors anticipate that most aid will be permanently cut and additional staff reductions will follow, with the potential for U.S.A.I.D. to be absorbed into the State Department. Despite U.S.A.I.D.'s congressional establishment and allocated budget for foreign aid this year, there has been minimal pushback from Republican lawmakers regarding the aid freeze and job cuts.
Foreign aid constitutes less than 1 percent of the federal budget. Rubio indicated that employees could seek waivers to continue essential humanitarian programs during the freeze, but few programs have received such waivers. Furthermore, even those with waivers have been hindered by the failure of the U.S.A.I.D. payment system, known as Phoenix, preventing partner organizations from accessing funds.
Requests for comments from the State Department and a U.S.A.I.D. press officer went unanswered.