USAID Shutdown 2-13-25

USAID Controversy Live Updates: Judge Blocks Trump From Putting 2,200 Staff On Leave 

By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff, Siladitya Ray is a New Delhi-based Forbes news team reporter. And Molly Bohannon, Forbes Staff, Molly Bohannon has been a Forbes news reporter since 2023.

Topline

A federal judge barred President Donald Trump from putting thousands of U.S. Agency for International Development staffers on paid leave Friday—as the Trump administration reportedly prepares to lay off nearly all of the embattled foreign aid agency’s workforce.

Feb. 7 Judge Carl Nichols prevented Trump from placing 2,200 USAID staff on leave while a lawsuit from labor unions works its way through the courts—in what the Trump-appointed judge reportedly called a “limited” move.

Feb. 7 As Trump angles to cut USAID, a number of hoaxes about the agency’s funding have spread on X: Forbes is tracking the false claims here.

Feb. 6 A labor union and the American Foreign Service Association sued Trump over his plan to shut down large swaths of USAID’s operations, arguing the Constitution only allows Congress—not the president—to scrap a federal agency, and alleging Trump “generated a global humanitarian crisis by abruptly halting the crucial work of USAID employees, grantees, and contractors.”

Feb. 6 The New York Times reported the Trump administration plans to cut down USAID’s staff of 10,000 down to about 290 positions, with a small group of remaining workers specializing in health and humanitarian assistance, according to three unnamed people with knowledge of the plan who were cited by the Times.

Feb. 4 A notice on USAID’s website said “all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally,” by the end of this week “with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.” For USAID personnel stationed abroad, the notice said the agency is working with the State Department on a plan to arrange and pay for their return travel to the United States within 30 days. Contractors whose work is not deemed as essential will be laid off.

According to a Congressional report published in January, USAID’s direct hire workforce “totals more than 10,000, with approximately two-thirds serving overseas.”

According to the New York Times, the notice was published after roughly 1,400 U.S.-based USAID staffers were informed about being put on indefinite administrative leave which will remain in place until they were “otherwise notified.”

Several of USAID’s social media handles also appear to have been purged, as its Instagram, X and YouTube pages are no longer accessible. The aid agency’s Facebook page still remains up at the time of publishing although it’s last post was made on Friday featuring an excerpt from an op-ed written by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

A “Rally to Restore Foreign Aid Now” is set to take place in Washington D.C. on Wednesday morning to protest the Trump administration’s efforts to shut down or curtail USAID’s operations.

Feb. 3 Rubio told lawmakers in a letter: “USAID may move, reorganize, and integrate certain missions, bureaus, and offices into the Department of State, and the remainder of the agency may be abolished consistent with applicable law,” according to The Washington Post, citing agency activities he considered “conflicting” and “overlapping” alongside systems that “often result in the discord of the foreign policy and foreign relations of the United States.”

Feb. 3 Rubio appointed Pete Marocco, USAID’s director of foreign assistance, to oversee day-to-day operations of the agency (Marocco served at USAID during the first Trump administration and was put on leave three months into his position after officials filed a complaint about him to the agency's watchdog and claimed he disrupted USAID’s work, gave vague directives and marginalized employees).

Feb. 3 USAID employees at an annex office in Washington, D.C., were seen clearing out their desks, The New York Times reported.

Feb. 3 Rubio confirmed to reporters traveling with him in Central America that he had been appointed acting administrator of USAID and said he “delegated” his authority to someone, though the Times reported he didn’t name the person.

Feb. 3 Citing three anonymous U.S. officials, CBS News reported Monday that USAID will be merged with the State Department and will have “significant cuts in the workforce, but it will remain a humanitarian aid entity.”

Feb. 3 Hours after Musk said Trump approved shutting down USAID, ABC News reported the president—whose administration has been seemingly moving toward putting USAID under the control of the State Department—appointed Rubio to temporarily lead the independent organization.

 Feb. 3 Musk continued ranting against USAID in a post on X in which he said the agency “is/was a radical-left political psy op.”

Feb. 3 USAID staffers were told to work from home and avoid the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Monday, multiple outlets reported, and hundreds of employees lost access to the computer systems overnight, according to the Associated Press.

Feb. 3 An X Spaces stream began to discuss the work of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), during which Musk said he checked with the president a few times about USAID—which Musk claimed, without evidence, was “incredibly politically partisan”—and asked “Are you sure?” and Trump said yes, “so we’re shutting it down.”

Musk described USAID as not just an “apple with a worm it in” but rather a “bowl of worms” which was “beyond repair” and the only solution was “You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing.”

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who was also on the stream, said if there are “truly good pro-American programs” under USAID’s authority they should be moved under the State Department and “make sure we have proper oversight.”

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader