DOGE sends firing notice to 9,400 USAID employees as total destruction of agency starts now

President Donald Trump's medication volition occurrence astir 9,400 workers from USAID, deeming lone 611 arsenic indispensable employees and bringing astir the adjacent full elimination of the authorities agency.

The medication primitively planned to support less than 300 unit astatine the U.S. Agency for International Development, Reuters noted, but that fig has present risen, according a announcement sent to the bureau precocious Thursday night.

'USAID IS DRIVING THE RADICAL LEFT CRAZY, AND THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO ABOUT IT BECAUSE THE WAY IN WHICH THE MONEY HAS BEEN SPENT, SO MUCH OF IT FRAUDULENTLY, IS TOTALLY UNEXPLAINABLE. THE CORRUPTION IS AT LEVELS RARELY SEEN BEFORE. CLOSE IT DOWN!,' Trump wrote connected his Truth Social relationship connected Friday morning. 

USAID was the archetypal people of Elon Musk's DOGE team. The Department of Government Efficiency is sweeping done the national government, cutting spending and the workforce. 

Musk has called the agency a 'criminal organization' and criticized its spending connected foreign aid.

'Your taxation dollars should beryllium spent connected America oregon the authorities should conscionable taxation you less,' helium wrote connected X connected Tuesday.

The remaining USAID unit includes employees who specialize successful wellness and humanitarian assistance, the New York Times reported. 

When the archetypal 300 fig was floated, unit astatine the bureau had pushed to support much radical connected board, citing captious lifesaving humanitarian work. 

Senior unit submitted a database of astir 600 radical to State Department leadership, calling their enactment indispensable and saying it could not beryllium disrupted.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved the database of employees who are staying.

But astir 800 awards and contracts administered done the bureau are being canceled.

USAID's Washington D.C. bureau has been closed. And protesters person been surrounding the building. 

Additionally, earlier this week, the medication gave USAID staffers posted overseas 30 days, starting Friday, to instrumentality to the U.S., with the authorities paying for their question and moving costs. 

Workers who take to enactment longer, unless they received a circumstantial hardship waiver, whitethorn person to screen their ain expenses.

USAID unit are warring back. 

Two unions representing USAID employees connected Thursday filed a suit implicit the cuts against Trump, Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the agency, the State Department and the Treasury Department.

'What we're seeing is an unlawful seizure of this bureau by the Trump medication successful a plain usurpation of basal law principles,' said Robin Thurston, the ineligible manager for Democracy Forward, 1 of 2 advocacy organizations that filed the suit connected behalf of the American Foreign Service Association and American Federation of Government Employees.

The suit argues lone Congress tin dissolve the bureau and calls the Trump administration's actions 'unconstitutional and illegal.' 

Trump is 1 of the agency's apical critics. He has said of it: 'It's been tally by a clump of extremist lunatics, and we're getting them out.'

And Rubio has defended the government's actions. 

During a associated property league with the president of the Dominican Republic connected Thursday, helium said it was the lone option.

'I'd person preferred not to bash it this way,' helium noted. 'When we tried to bash it from the apical down by getting practice from the cardinal bureau and USAID, what we recovered alternatively are radical trying to usage the strategy to sneak done payments and propulsion done payments contempt the halt order. We recovered radical that were uncooperative successful presumption of giving america accusation and access.'

Rubio emphasized that the Trump medication volition inactive beryllium issuing overseas assistance.

'The United States volition beryllium providing overseas aid,' helium said. 'But it is going to beryllium overseas assistance that makes consciousness and is aligned with our nationalist interest.'

Meanwhile, Trump's determination to chopped the agency's backing could person consequences astatine home.

USAID oversees projects specified arsenic nutrient aid, catastrophe alleviation and wellness programs successful implicit 100 countries with a budget of astir $40 billion.

Much of the assistance the bureau buys is from American businesses. 

In 2020, the bureau bought $2.1 cardinal successful nutrient assistance from American farmers. Smaller companies with specialities similar planetary wellness attraction could spell retired of business.