The Trump administration puts on leave personnel globally in dramatic help review
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The Trump administration puts on leave personnel globally in dramatic help review

On Monday, State Secretary Marco Rubio told reporters that he was now acting head of USAID, called the agency “completely defending” and accused the staff there of being “unwilling to answer simple questions” about programs.

He informed Congress in a letter about the threatening reorganization of the agency and said that some parts of USAID can be absorbed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the rest can be abolished.

But since Congress established USAID as an independent facility within the executive branch, the president does not have the authority to abolish it without the congressional permission, according to a CRS report this week.

CHAOS

Hundreds of USAID programs that cover life -saving aid around the world stopped after Trump ordered on January 20, a freezing of most US foreign support and said he wanted to make sure it was adapted to his “America First” policy. He commissioned the billionaire Elon Musk, who mistakenly accused USAID of being a “criminal” organization, with the downsure of the agency.

The announcement at the USAID site went online hours after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was told by Peter Marocco, a Trump committee who on Monday was commissioned to monitor the agency’s operations, that all USAID staff and their families should be revoked, sources say.

Tuesday night’s announcement caps almost two weeks with devastation at the agency, where dozens of staff at the head office in DC were laid on leave and hundreds of internal contractors were dismissed. Implementation partners in USAID are facing financial problems on the back of stop-work orders from the Ministry of State.

Exceptions have been issued for some acute life -saving help.

During the financial year 2023, the United States paid $ 72 billion in support worldwide on everything from women’s health in conflict zones to access to clean water, HIV/AIDS treatments, energy security and anti-corruption work. It provided 42% of all humanitarian aid tracked by the UN 2024.

Funding, less than 1% of the US total budget, is an important role in Washington’s efforts to build alliances around the world, strengthens its diplomacy and counteracts the influence of opponents such as China and Russia in the development world.

The announcement added that substantial staff who are expected to continue working will be informed by the agency’s leadership by Thursday, February 6, at 15:00 (EST).

Further reporting by David Brunnström, Jonathan Landay and Patricia Zengerle in Washington and Simon Lewis in Guatemala City; Editing Sonali Paul and Gerry Doyle.

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