The Trump admin will cut 2,000 jobs at USAID and place nearly all remaining staff worldwide on administrative leave.
The announcement came on Sunday after a District Court Judge ruled that the firings could go ahead. Judge Carl Nichols rejected attempts to extend a temporary stay that had been placed on firings as part of a lawsuit by USAID employees.
A notice was sent to USAID employees.
“As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally,” the notice stated.
Elon Musk has boasted of “feeding USAID into the wood chipper” as part of his Department of Government Efficiency’s aim to cut $2 trillion of government spending within two years.
In the first month of Trump’s second term, DOGE have reported cost savings of $55 billion as a result of canceled grants, sales of assets, firings, and terminations of leases and contracts.
Musk has emphasized the need for DOGE to act quickly and cut deep, because America’s growing national debt is becoming unserviceable.
“We either solve the deficit, or all we’ll be doing is paying debt,” he said in a recent interview with Fox News.
“It’s got to be solved, or there’s no medical care, there’s no Social Security, there’s no nothing. It’s got to be solved. “It’s not optional,” Musk said. “America will go bankrupt if this is not done.
President Trump has urged Musk to get “more aggressive” in his cuts.
“Elon is doing a great job, but I would like to see him get more aggressive,” Trump wrote on Saturday on his social-media site, Truth Social.
“Remember, we have a country to save, but ultimately, to make greater than ever before. MAGA!”
The billionaire Tesla CEO was quick to respond in the affirmative: “Will do, Mr President,” he wrote on X.