Traumatized USAID worker who survived DOGE bloodbath describes horror of watching everyone get fired

A USAID idiosyncratic who managed to past wide cuts by DOGE has described the fearfulness watching their coworkers being fired. 

President Trump has gone scorched-earth against the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) this week, claiming it is 'corrupt'. 

Amidst immense amounts of layoffs astatine the agency, 1 unit subordinate described to NPR  how during a virtual unit gathering connected Monday radical started leaving 1 by 1 as  their entree was chopped off. 

The staffer said: 'It was similar from a fearfulness film', aft the medication ordered astatine slightest 8,000 staffers and contractors onto imperishable permission oregon furlough. 

"There is nary bottommost to this stupidity," a abstracted USAID staffer told the nationalist broadcaster. Another added that authorities "Might arsenic good unopen it each down. 290 radical won't beryllium capable to bash anything."

The Trump medication had primitively planned to support 297 unit but that fig has present risen to 611 according to a announcement issued precocious connected Thursday night. 

On Friday, 1 idiosyncratic could beryllium seen crying as crews utilized duct portion to artifact retired the bureau sanction connected a motion extracurricular of its headquarters, arsenic they besides tore down ample lettering implicit the entranceway. 

Trump wrote earlier connected his Truth Social: 'USAID is driving the extremist near crazy, and determination is thing they tin bash astir it due to the fact that the mode successful which the wealth has been spent, truthful overmuch of it fraudulently, is wholly unexplainable. The corruption is astatine levels seldom seen earlier adjacent it down!'

The section was the archetypal people of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) which is gutting spending and the national authorities workface.

The DOGE societal media relationship celebrated the event, sharing images of the gathering with the letters removed. 'Unburdened by what has been,' the connection read.

Musk has called the bureau a 'criminal organization' and criticized its spending on 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 besides approved the database of employees who are staying. 

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

Earlier this week, the medication gave unit overseas 30 days, starting Friday, to instrumentality to the US, 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.

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.

Robin Thurston, the ineligible manager for Democracy Forward, 1 of 2 advocacy organizations that filed the suit said: 'What we're seeing is an unlawful seizure of this bureau by the Trump medication successful a plain usurpation of basal law principles.'

The suit argues lone Congress tin dissolve the bureau and calls the Trump administration's actions 'unconstitutional and illegal.' 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 administration 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 fund 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 specialties similar planetary wellness attraction could spell retired of business.