USAID Utterly Obliterated - Rubio Announces 97% of Staff Gone - Africa, Asia to Share 20 Staffers Total
New reports indicate that the Trump administration is making deep cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
A Reuters report, citing unnamed sources, stated that once the reductions are complete, USAID will have a workforce of just 294 employees—down from approximately 10,000. If accurate, this would represent a staggering 97 percent decrease.
According to The New York Times, a leaked email screenshot from Joel Borkert, the acting USAID chief of staff, outlined current staffing plans: 12 personnel assigned to projects in Africa, eight for Latin America and the Caribbean, 21 handling Middle East initiatives, and eight focused on Asia.
The Times further reported that the agency intends to retain 78 employees in the Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs and 77 in the Bureau of Global Health.
“That’s outrageous,” J. Brian Atwood, a former USAID administrator, told Reuters.
The State Department did not issue a statement in response to the reports from Reuters and The New York Times.
USAID has come under scrutiny from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced that directly hired USAID employees will be placed on leave, and all foreign personnel are being recalled.
The Times, also citing unnamed sources, reported that some USAID officials are pushing back against the proposed staffing levels.
In addition to workforce reductions, the agency is set to cancel approximately 800 grants and contracts, according to the Times.
During an interview with Fox News, Rubio claimed USAID has been operating outside its mandate in recent years, accusing it of “rank insubordination” and stating, “We had no choice but to bring this thing under control.”
Rubio asserted that some USAID employees “don’t consider that they work for the U.S. They just think they’re a global entity and that their master is the globe and not the United States, and that’s not what the statute says, and that’s not sustainable.”
He emphasized his goal of reshaping the agency into a leaner, more targeted organization.
“There are things that we do through USAID that we should continue to do, that make sense, and we’ll have to decide, is that better through the State Department or is that better through something, you know, a reformed USAID? That’s the process we’re working through,” Rubio explained.
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa also criticized the agency’s financial practices, telling Fox News that USAID has been attempting to obscure its spending.
“USAID’s spending shows a blatant disregard for the wishes of American taxpayers, and it is time to disrupt the system,” Ernst said.
“The agency has been wasting millions of tax dollars on things like tourism in Lebanon, Sesame Street in Iraq, sending Ukrainians to Paris Fashion Week, and so much more.”