The Trump administration is clearing out the ranks of government agencies accused of ignoring the instructions laid out by President Donald Trump in a slew of executive orders.
On Monday evening, a number of senior career staffers at the U.S. Agency for International Development were placed on immediate administrative leave after the Trump administration said they failed to comply with an executive order halting foreign aid.
The agency’s acting director, Jason Gray, said in an email to all USAID staff that he had “identified several actions within USAID that appear to be designed to circumvent the President's Executive Order and the mandate from the American people.”
“As a result, we have placed a number of USAID employees on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice while we complete our analysis of these actions,” a copy of the email obtained by Politico read.
USAID has a $22.6 billion budget and employs more than 10,000 people, the majority of whom work overseas. Roughly 60 senior USAID employees, or nearly every staffer who holds a top position at the agency, could be affected by the latest news, according to the outlet.
The staffers allegedly refused to comply with an order from Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday that paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and USAID. The foreign aid will undergo a review period, Rubio said, “to ensure they are efficient and consistent with U.S. foreign policy under the America First agenda.”
“President Trump stated clearly that the United States is no longer going to blindly dole out money with no return for the American people. Reviewing and realigning foreign assistance on behalf of hardworking taxpayers is not just the right thing to do, it is a moral imperative,” a press release announcing Rubio’s directive said. “The mandate from the American people was clear — we must refocus on American national interests.”
Rubio’s order stemmed from an executive action Trump announced on Jan. 20, the day he assumed office.
Trump’s memo enacted a 90-day pause on nearly all U.S. foreign development assistance to undergo an assessment “of programmatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policy.” The order did not include a pause on military aid to Israel or emergency food assistance.
“The United States foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values,” the president said. “No further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States.”
Gray’s move to place USAID employees on leave Monday came after a warning issued over the weekend to comply with the executive orders.
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Ken Jackson, who is Gray’s assistant for management and resources, told USAID employees in an email obtained by NPR that "failure to abide by this directive, or any of the directives sent out earlier this week and in the coming weeks, will result in disciplinary action.”
“I will hold leaders accountable to ensure their employees adhere to these expectations," the email said.
