President Trump To Put Thousands Of USAID Employees On Leave By Friday

President Donald Trump will put thousands of global employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development AKA USAID on leave by Friday.
An announcement on the website read,
"On Friday, February 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST) all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally."

With the exeption of some personnel "responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs" it said.

USAID's workforce totals more than 10,000 people with about two-thirds of that staff serving overseas. For those staff, Washington is working with the state department to pay for their return travel with in 30 days.

The announcement added that the USAID leadership was going to consider case-by-case exceptions based on personal hardship or concerns over mobility and safety.
"Thank you for your service," the announcement finished.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio - the acting head of USAID - called the agency "completely unresponsive" and said staff were "unwilling to answer simple questions" about programs