WASHINGTON: The Trump administration over the weekend put on administrative leave dozens more staff at US Agency for International Development, three sources familiar with the move said, as it moves to abolish the agency’s independence and bring it under the control of the State Department.
Nearly 30 career staff in the agency’s Legislative and Public Affairs bureau lost access overnight to their emails, the sources said, bringing the total number of senior USAID career staff who have been put on leave over the past week close to 100.
Two senior officials overseeing the agency’s security operations were also put on administrative leave after refusing to hand over classified documents to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) officials, one of the sources said.
Matt Hopson, who was appointed as chief of staff by the Trump administration, has resigned, five sources familiar with the matter said. A congressional source said his resignation followed the security personnel being put on leave. USAID did not respond to a request about Hopson.
The purge follows more than a week of mayhem inside USAID, Washington’s primary agency funding billions of dollars’ worth of life-saving aid globally. President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on almost all US foreign aid, saying his administration will review spending to ensure money is distributed in line with his “America First” foreign policy.
The global freeze on most of US foreign aid is already sending shockwaves around the world. Field hospitals in Thai refugee camps, landmine clearance in war zones, and drugs to treat millions suffering from diseases such as HIV are among the programs at risk of elimination.
US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Brian Mast on Sunday said that he supported moving USAID under the State Department and that there needs to be “more command and control”.
Asked on CBS’ “Face the Nation” if congressional approval was needed or whether Trump could act unilaterally, Mast did not answer but said restructuring was needed.
