- The Trump administration and Elon Musk's DOGE are moving to shut down USAID. Staff have been placed on administrative leave, and some tell Fortune communication from the agency has been chaotic. The move has faced international criticism over the potential global impact on aid efforts and job losses.
The Trump administration has pushed ahead with plans to shutter the U.S. Agency for International Development, sparking chaotic scenes for many workers. On Tuesday, the administration said it was pulling almost all USAID workers out of the field worldwide and would place most direct-hire personnel on administrative leave globally by Friday.
The agency employs around 1,700 people in its Foreign Service, as per an update shared in 2020. USAID staffers in the U.S. have been working remotely for the last two days after being told on Monday that the office would be closed.
Two USAID employees, who asked for anonymity to protect their jobs, told Fortune that some staff periodically lost access to their work laptops throughout the day on Tuesday in a seemingly random pattern.
One of the people said USAID's HR team was not aware of which employees had their access restricted and had been trying to compile a list of workers affected on Tuesday.
Later that day, many USAID staffers received a note, seen by Fortune, from the new USAID head, Pete Marocco, notifying them that they had been placed on paid administrative leave. Two workers said the administrative leave notice was sent outside typical working hours, with staffers given little time before being locked out of their work accounts.
The note, which was attached to an email sent to staffers, said: "The purpose of this memorandum is to inform you that you are being placed on excused absence (known as administrative leave) with pay effective immediately, pursuant to ADS 480. You will remain on administrative leave until otherwise notified."
“You must be available by telephone and email during normal business hours, as it may be necessary for agency officials to contact you," the note said.
The email also asked employees to share their personal contact information, including phone number, email address, and mailing address, with an HR contact.
However, soon after, the majority of the employee relations team—including the employee with whom staffers had been directed to share their personal information—was placed on administrative leave, one USAID employee told Fortune.
When contacting the HR worker, employees received an automated out-of-office email, seen by Fortune.
Pictures of USAID's work pulled down from office walls
Staffers have reported a chaotic atmosphere within the department since Trump took office and his allies began to follow through on promises to slash government funding.
Last week, some USAID workers were given a "stop work" order and later placed on official leave by the agency. Another USAID worker told Fortune that the lack of communication since the "stop work" order had left them in a "limbo period" since last week.
"Everyone is applying for jobs, obviously," they said.
Elon Musk has also been involved in the efforts to shut down USAID.
Musk has been vocal about his plans to shutter the agency, calling it a "ball of worms" and "beyond repair" in an interview broadcast on X (formerly Twitter). The billionaire also announced he had President Trump's support for shutting it down.
USAID employees said that DOGE-linked personnel entered the offices last week and gained access to classified information, including intelligence reports. Two agency security chiefs initially refused to hand over the classified materials and were placed on leave by the Trump administration, according to reports confirmed by Fortune's sources. Government lawyers have been attempting to transition DOGE to one that is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, according to a report from 404 Media. The outlet said that DOGE employees have been ordered to stop using Slack while they attempt to do so.
On Monday the agency notified workers of the office closure text blast through a notification system used for extreme weather alerts, which was reviewed by Fortune, and in an email. The email address used to contact employees appeared to be associated with 25-year-old Musk ally Gavin Kliger, two employees said.
Three employees told Fortune that pictures of USAID's work that had been displayed around the office were removed last week.
"They are trying to make an example out of us because we are a small agency and the folks we impact are not voters," another USAID worker told Fortune. "If they can get away with their actions here, they will get more emboldened with larger agencies."
Bill Gates says Musk wouldn’t kill the agency if he knew what it did
Many people have criticized the closure of the agency and warned that it could have a devastating effect on at-risk groups around the world.
Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates said in an interview with The View that he was "worried" about plans to scale back USAID, claiming it could result in "literally millions of deaths." When asked about Musk's part in the effort to shut down USAID, Gates said he didn't believe the billionaire would be shuttering the agency if he knew what it did.
One website set up to track jobs lost under the USAID stop-work order said that an estimated 51,946 American jobs had been lost and more than 100,000 jobs had been affected worldwide.
The site said the numbers were based on data from 52 organizations and were part of ongoing reporting.
"This decision doesn't just impact those overseas; it weakens our nation's global standing, disrupts critical aid efforts, and threatens our own economic and national security," the website, which is run by a group of development workers and consultants, said.
Representatives for Musk, USAID, and the White House did not respond to Fortune's requests for comment.
