WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Sunday that it is eliminating 2,000 posts at the U.S. Agency for International Development and placing all but a fraction of others worldwide on leave.
It comes after a federal judge allowed the administration to move forward with pulling thousands of USAID staffers off the job in the United States and around the world. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols rejected pleas to keep his temporary stay on the government’s plan in a lawsuit from employees.
The notices were sent to USAID workers and viewed by The Associated Press.
“As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, , 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally,” the notices say.
The move escalates a monthlong administration assault on the agency that has closed its headquarters in Washington and shut down thousands of U.S. aid and development programs worldwide following an effort to freeze foreign assistance. President Donald Trump and his chief cost-cutter, Elon Musk, contend the aid and development work is wasteful and furthers a liberal agenda.
The notices of firings and leaves come on top of hundreds of USAID contractors receiving no-name form letters of termination over the weekend, according to copies that viewed.
The blanket nature of the notification letters to USAID contractors, excluding the names or positions of those receiving it, could make it difficult for the dismissed workers to get unemployment benefits, workers noted.
A different judge in a second lawsuit tied to the dismantling of USAID has temporarily blocked the freeze on foreign assistance and said this past week that the administration had kept withholding the aid and must at least temporarily restore the funding to programs worldwide.
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President Donald Trump and former vice president Kamala Harris referred to each other as they spoke at different events Saturday. Though Kamala Harris did not take Trump’s name, she referred to ‘shadows gathering over our democracy’ in a jibe at the Trump administration — as she was speaking at the 56th NAACP Image Awards. The event marked Kamala Harris’ first television appearance since leaving the office as she keeps people guessing about her future plans.
The President, on the other hand, was speaking at the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference).
CPAC is the biggest annual gathering of conservative activists and Donald Trump delivered a 75-minute speech where he mentioned Kamala, and held a poll on which is better between Crooked Joe and Sleepy Joe. Crooked Joe won.
“Kamala,” Trump said. “I haven’t heard that name in a while. Nobody ever knows her last name … But think of it, I was beating Joe badly and they changed him. Think of it, I’m the only one who had to beat two people.”
“He was a sleepy, crooked guy. Terrible, terrible president. He was the worst president in the history of our country … Every single thing he touched turned to s**t,” Trump said of Biden.
Kamala Harris, on the other hand, took the stage as she received the awards and said: “We have done it before and we will do it again.”
“But some look at this moment and rightly feel the weight of history. Some see the flames on our horizons, the rising waters in our cities, the shadows gathering over our democracy, and ask, ‘What do we do now?’ But we know exactly what to do, because we have done it before, and we will do it again,” Kamala said.
“We use our power; we organize, mobilize, we educate and we advocate. Because, you see, our power has never come from having an easy path. Our strength flows from our faith – faith in God, faith in each other, and our refusal to surrender to cynicism and destruction. Not because it is easy, but because it is necessary. Not because victory is guaranteed, but because the fight is worth it,” Harris stated.
Kamala Harris has signed with a talent agency — Creative Artists Agency — which also signed Joe Biden recently. This agency will represent Kamala Harris in speaking engagements and in publishing books. According to aides, Kamala Harris will make a political comeback either in 2026 California Governor election or in 2028 presidential election.
