On Friday, a federal judge cleared the way for the Trump administration to put thousands of USAID workers on leave, a setback for government employee unions that are suing over what they have called an effort to dismantle it.
Two former senior USAID officials estimated that a majority of about 4,600 USAID personnel, career US Civil Service and Foreign Service staffers, would be placed on administrative leave.
“This administration and Secretary (of State Marco) Rubio are shortsighted in cutting into the expertise and unique crisis response capacity of the US,” said Marcia Wong, one of the former officials. “When disease outbreaks occur, populations displaced, these USAID experts are on the ground and first deployed to help stabilise and provide aid.”
Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe.
The administration has approved exceptions to the freeze totalling US$5.3 billion, mostly for security and counter-narcotics programs, according to a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters that included limited humanitarian relief.
USAID programs got less than US$100 million in exemptions, compared to roughly US$40 billion in programs it administered annually before the freeze.
