USAID bloodbath as Trump fires two thousand workers and puts thousands more on leave

The Trump administration continued its bloodbath gutting of the U.S. Agency for International Development, cutting 2,000 workers and placing all but a fraction of other staffers on leave.

It comes after a federal judge on Friday allowed the administration to move forward with pulling thousands of domestic USAID staffers off the job and around the world. 

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols rejected pleas that came in a lawsuit from employees to keep temporarily blocking the government´s plan.

‘As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally,’ according to the notices sent to USAID workers and viewed by The Associated Press.

At the same time, the agency said it is cutting the U.S.-based workforce by about 2,000 employees.

The move escalates a monthlong assault on the agency by Trump and ‘First Buddy’ Elon Musk that has closed its headquarters in Washington and shut down thousands of U.S. aid and development programs worldwide following an effort to freeze foreign assistance. 

Trump and chief cost-cutter Musk contend the aid and development work is wasteful and furthers a liberal agenda.

Citing a big concern for workers stationed overseas who have reported being cut off from government communications, the notices say that ‘USAID is committed to keeping its overseas personnel safe. 

Until they return home, personnel will retain access to Agency systems and to diplomatic and other resources.’

The administration said employees put on leave overseas are expected to receive ‘voluntary Agency-funded return travel’ and other benefits.

Nichols, who was nominated by Trump, said he had been ‘very concerned’ about workers in high-risk areas left overseas without access to emergency communications. 

But he said he has since been reassured by the administration that workers would still have access to two-way radios that allow 24-7 communications in emergencies, as well as a phone app with a ‘panic button.’

The judge said the government´s statements persuaded him ‘that the risk posed to USAID employees who are placed on administrative leave while stationed abroad – if there is any – is far more minimal than it initially appeared.’

The notices of firings and leaves come on top of hundreds of USAID contractors receiving no-name form letters of termination over the weekend, according to copies that AP viewed.

The blanket nature of the notification letters to USAID contractors, excluding the names or positions of those receiving it, could make it difficult for the dismissed workers to get unemployment benefits, workers noted.

A different judge in a second lawsuit tied to the dismantling of USAID has temporarily blocked the freeze on foreign assistance and said this past week that the administration had kept withholding the aid despite his court order and must at least temporarily restore the funding to programs worldwide.

USAID workers overseas will have the option to return to the US and their travels would be funded by the agency. However, they can also choose to stay on paid leave at their foreign posts and will still have access to vital resources.

Much controversy has sparked from Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as he continues to bulldoze through several government agencies in an attempt to uncover corrupt spending. 

Several lawsuits have sparked since January 20 about Musk’s cost-cutting slashes, but DOGE has managed to prevail in some cases. 

A federal judge denied liberals’ last ditch attempt to stop ‘First Buddy’ from accessing government data in a huge victory for DOGE.

The lawsuit against DOGE was filed by 14 states’ attorneys general in a coordinated effort to strip Musk of his power as his department gained access to swaths of sensitive data at multiple federal agencies.

While US District Judge Tanya Chutkan found that there are legitimate questions about Musk’s authority, she said there isn’t evidence of the kind of grave legal harm that would justify a temporary restraining order.

The states’ attorneys general argued that Musk is wielding the kind of power that the Constitution says can only be held by those who are elected or confirmed by the Senate.

The Trump administration, for its part, has maintained that layoffs are coming from agency heads, and asserted that despite his public cheering of the effort Musk isn’t directly running DOGE’s day-to-day operations himself.

Chutkan said their questions about Musk’s apparent ‘unchecked authority’ and lack of Congressional oversight for DOGE are legitimate and they may be able to successfully argue them later.

Still, at this point, it remains unclear exactly how DOGE’s work will affect the states, and judges can only issue court only issue orders to block specific, immediate harms, she found.

A Massachusetts judge also lifted a temporary freeze on Trump’s ‘buyout’ offer to federal workers. 

District Judge George O’Toole ruled the unions lack standing to challenge the directive and are not directly impacted by it. 

O’Toole, a President Clinton appointee, lifted the temporary restraining order on February 10.

‘Aggrieved employees can bring claims through the administrative process,’ he also wrote.