As the team behind Elon Musk’s DOGE moves forward with its plans to dismantle the US government’s main agency responsible for foreign aid, employees stationed abroad are caught in a state of uncertainty. Workers at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are deployed in numerous countries worldwide, but reports from ABC and CBS News suggest that many of these employees will soon be called back to the United States.
Both domestically and internationally, some USAID staff have experienced abrupt cuts to their email and system access, complicating their ability to receive official updates regarding their situation. “Everyone is understandably anxious for our overseas personnel who are essentially being left in precarious positions,” a current USAID staff member in the United States shared with WIRED. “We’re uncertain about how to bring them home safely.”
WIRED has obtained internal communications indicating that USAID leadership sought to compile a comprehensive list of worldwide personnel on Monday. On Tuesday, Pete Marocco, newly appointed director of foreign assistance at the State Department and tasked with overseeing USAID, met with senior officials from the State Department and directed them to facilitate the return of all overseas employees to the US, according to CBS News. The outlet also reported that Marocco indicated he would arrange evacuations with military support if deemed necessary.
On Tuesday afternoon, USAID employees who still had access to their email accounts received a notification that the agency’s headquarters in Washington, DC, would remain closed for the rest of the week, as per a message reviewed by WIRED. Some employees received a memo from Marocco stating they had been placed on administrative leave “until further notice.”
USAID did not respond to inquiries for comment. The State Department also did not respond to requests for information.
Approximately 10,000 individuals are employed by USAID, with about two-thirds stationed overseas, according to the US Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan policy research organization serving Congress (this figure excludes institutional support contractors). The agency operates more than 60 regional and country missions and constitutes less than 1 percent of the overall US federal budget.
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Shortly after taking office last month, President Donald Trump halted all US foreign aid. His administration later clarified that programs delivering crucial services such as medical and food assistance could receive humanitarian waivers to continue, but numerous organizations globally report that the process has been mired in confusion and disarray. Even essential HIV and AIDS prevention initiatives have faced significant disruptions, as reported by WIRED on Monday.
Earlier today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who assumed interim control of USAID on Monday, speculated that any misunderstandings from aid organizations reflected their incompetence. “If an organization is receiving funds from the United States and does not understand how to apply for a waiver, then I have serious concerns about their competence,” Rubio stated. He also suggested that perhaps some groups were “intentionally sabotaging” the process to make “a political statement.”
As a U.S. senator, Rubio consistently expressed support for various US foreign aid programs. “Foreign aid is not charity,” he remarked on social media in 2017. “We must ensure it is effectively utilized, but it comprises less than 1% of the budget and is crucial for our national security.”
In 2019, Rubio mentioned he was working on securing Congressional backing for a multilateral humanitarian aid plan aimed at providing food and medicine to the suffering population of Venezuela. (Florida, his home state, has a significant Venezuelan community.)
Overall, USAID delivered assistance to approximately 130 countries in 2023. The primary recipients of this aid included Ukraine, Ethiopia, Jordan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Syria, as per the Congressional Research Service.
The ongoing disbandment of USAID fits within a broader “America First” agenda championed by the new Trump administration, which focuses on retrenching from numerous international organizations and diplomatic initiatives. On Tuesday, President Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the US from the UN’s Human Rights Council.
