The Trump administration will place almost all U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employees on administrative leave on Friday as it evaluates the agency’s role and how it distributes taxpayer dollars.
The agency posted on its website on Tuesday that all of its “direct hire personnel” would be on administrative leave starting February 7 at 11:59 p.m. “with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.” Those who will not be placed on leave will be told by Thursday at 3:00 p.m.
In recent days, USAID has been under intense scrutiny from the Trump administration and Elon Musk, who has been tasked with heading up President Donald Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” program. Musk said on Monday that Trump had given him the go-ahead to start shutting down the…
