The Trump administration will eliminate all USAID (United States Agency for International Development) overseas positions worldwide by 30 September in a dramatic restructuring of remaining US foreign aid operations, APA reports citing the Guardian.
Secretary of State orders the abolishment of the USAID international workforce
In a Tuesday state department cable obtained by the Guardian, Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the abolishment of the agency’s entire international workforce, transferring control of foreign assistance programs directly to the state department.
The directive affects hundreds of USAID staff globally, including foreign service officers, contractors, and locally employed personnel across more than 100 countries. Chiefs of mission at US embassies have been told to prepare for the sweeping changes to occur within four months.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes charge
“The Department of State is streamlining procedures under National Security Decision Directive 38 to abolish all USAID overseas positions,” the cable reads, adding that the department “will assume responsibility for foreign assistance programming previously undertaken by USAID” from 15 June.
The state department did not respond to a request for comment.
Key officials involved
Among those who cleared the cable was Howard Van Vranken, a former ambassador to Botswana.
Freeze on foreign assistance and USAID shutdown
The closures followed an executive order from Trump on his first day back in the White House on 20 January, freezing foreign assistance pending a review.
While a waiver was subsequently announced for humanitarian assistance, questions were raised about USAID’s future after its website disappeared on 1 February. Two days later, staff received an email telling them not to come to work following a weekend during which its servers were removed and leadership and senior staff were fired or put on disciplinary leave.
Rubio declared himself the agency’s acting administrator after staff were locked out of its Washington headquarters.
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