A number of government websites, including USAID.gov, ForeignAssistance.gov, NeglectedDiseases.gov, and ChildrenInAdversity.gov, have been taken offline. An analysis conducted by WIRED on over 1,000 federal .gov websites revealed that at least seven associated with a USAID server were shut down within a two-hour period on Saturday afternoon.
On Friday, Reuters reported that the removal of these sites stemmed from confusion surrounding new regulations regarding language permitted on federal websites. Agencies were directed to “remove all outward-facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) that promote or endorse gender ideology” by 5 pm EST, Friday, January 31.
This action represents the latest maneuver in the Trump administration’s effort to significantly alter the US government. Shortly after taking office, the Trump administration deactivated ReproductiveRights.gov, a site that provided information on reproductive healthcare. A noticeable uptick in the number of US government websites going offline has been observed since mid-January.
In addition to sites tied to the USAID server, Youth.gov—a US government platform aimed at supporting youth initiatives—also appears to have gone offline recently. Before its deactivation, an archived version from the Wayback Machine displayed a post titled, “Preparing for MLK Jr. National Day of Service.”
A USAID staff member informed WIRED that personnel are urgently trying to save digital copies of regulations from archival versions of the site, and some employees have been locked out of their systems, including personnel files, payroll, and benefits details. “Decades worth of taxpayer-funded reports and analysis are lost in an instant,” remarked the employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to restrictions on engaging with the media. “We have no clarity on what is happening behind the scenes, what may return, and in what capacity.”
The employee further added: “Staff members can’t even access the DEC (Development Experience Clearinghouse, a publicly accessible database of USAID documents) to secure copies of open access reports.”
Another anonymous USAID employee told WIRED that they still had access to internal systems as of Saturday afternoon, but had limited insight into the unfolding situation. “We haven’t been permitted to communicate with our partners,” the employee stated, expressing frustration. “We’ve been kept uninformed, and this feels like an extension of that.” They also expressed concern that the agency could be reduced to a fraction of its previous size.
In addition to the previously mentioned sites, others such as HealthData.gov, Oversight.gov, and Vaccines.gov have also experienced intermittent outages. The reasons for these brief shutdowns remain uncertain—some may be related to the recent executive order, while others might stem from unrelated technical difficulties. However, certain sites, like ProsperAfrica.gov, have explicitly noted: “To comply with the President’s Executive Orders, this website is currently undergoing maintenance as we review all content thoroughly and swiftly.”
WIRED developed software capable of systematically checking the status of 1,374 government domains. This tool executes periodic scans to assess site accessibility, server responses, and domain name resolution. This methodology enables us to track uptime patterns and identify instances when websites abruptly disappear—occasionally re-emerging within minutes or hours. Some of these outages can be attributed to routine maintenance or technical failures; others indicate larger infrastructure issues or intentional removals.
