USAID staff will be placed on leave on Friday ncvrs.com

Thousands of employees of the United States International Development Agency (USAID) will be on vacation on Friday night, the agency says.

The USAID statement stated that the order affects all “direct rental staff” except for “mission-critical functions, basic management and specially designated programs”.

It is not clear which work it affects. A statement published on the agency’s website said that employees would be notified on Thursday afternoon.

The Trump administration said that USAID was wasting money and should be aligned with the President’s political priorities. Agency employees supported by democratic legislators protested against reductions, saying they would endanger lives and hinder national security.

President Donald Trump’s earlier decision on foreign assistance has raised the global aid system, and the effects have felt in many countries.

The agency, which provides humanitarian support to more than 100 countries, employs 10,000 people worldwide. According to the Congress Research Service, two thirds of these people work abroad.

Founded in 1961, the USAID budget is about $ 40 billion (£ 32.25 billion) a year, according to official figures, about 0.6% of federal spending.

In a statement made on Tuesday, USAID said it cooperated with the United States State Ministry to organize and pay for recurring trips to staff outside the United States within 30 days.

Employees who are part of the exception will be told on Thursday at 15:00 EDT (20:00 GMT).

The statement ended with the following message: “Thank you for the service.”

Given that some USAID employed in active conflict zones, it was not immediately clear how to withdraw them.

The measures are part of a series of reductions Trump has been accepted since he returned to office last month by coordinating Elon Musk’s unofficial government efficiency.

Haiti. The United Nations Organization said on Tuesday that the United States had informed it would freeze $ 13.3 million for the country.

However, on Wednesday, the United States State Ministry issued an exemption of $ 40.7 million in foreign assistance to Haiti’s national police police and the UN-supported international security support mission.

Earlier this week, the White House published a statement, listing a number of projects that called “waste and abuse” evidence, including $ 1.5 million in support for a Serbian LGBTQ group and $ 2.5 million for Vietnamese electric vehicles.

However, critics called the steps to close the agency an illegitimate capture, led by Musk, a non -elected billionaire.

Earlier this week, Trump’s most popular diplomat, Marco Rubio, became the managing director of USAID as part of the unification to the State Ministry.

Full closure of USAid Congress is required.

On Tuesday, many USAID employees received e -MAIL, informing them that they were placed on paid administrative leave.

E -Mail, received by BBC News, said that employees had to remain “available” on the phone and in e -Mail during working hours, but were not allowed to enter the USAID buildings.

Musk, CEO of Tesla and X Space suggested that USAID should be stopped completely as it is “beyond repair”.

Many have warned that closing the doors of the agency has a devastating effect on vulnerable populations around the world.

The USAID activities extend to soldiers injured in Ukraine to the cleaning of treadmills and the spread of Ebola in Africa.

A Nigerian HIV patient told the BBC that he and others fear that free anti-retroviral drugs funded by USAID would be cut off.

“I am very afraid of what the future is, because everything that happens in America,” he said. “I got the last HIV drug series in November and I have to go back in April … but I don’t know what would happen by then.

“These free medicines are very important to me, and most of us (HIV -Disabled) will be in trouble if they affect it,” he said.

The Washington Democrats in DC were particularly critical of changes in the agency, called “illegal” and “unconstitutional”.

“(USAID) is a bipartisan foreign policy tool that is critical in this dangerous global environment,” wrote New Jersey Democratic Senator Andy Kim, who previously worked for USAID in social media.

“Gutting means gutting our competitiveness and keeping America safe.”