US Agency for International Development staff around the world will be placed on administrative leave Friday and ordered to return to the US, according to a directive issued Tuesday night. As of 11:59 p.m. ET Friday, "all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs," said a statement posted on the USAID website, which is back online after going dark last week. The statement said it is preparing a plan for personnel posted outside the United States "under which the Agency would arrange and pay for return travel to the United States within 30 days" and terminate "contracts that are not determined to be essential." As the name implies, a direct hire is a government official directly employed by the US government, as opposed to contractors, who make up a large part of the USAID workforce. Many of those contractors have already been furloughed or laid off. Essential personnel expected to continue working will be informed by Thursday afternoon. The statement on the website ends with: "Thank you for your service." The directive comes as the Trump administration has begun dismantling the agency and frozen almost all foreign aid. A day earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he would be acting administrator of USAID, confirming the de-facto takeover of the humanitarian agency by the State Department. In recent days, dozens of senior USAID officials have been placed on leave, thousands of contractors have been laid off, and employees were told this week not to report to the agency's Washington headquarters. CNN reported earlier that staffers were receiving individual emails Tuesday informing them that they were being put on leave. Multiple officials shared with CNN the notice from the acting deputy administrator, Peter Marocco. "You will remain on administrative leave with pay until otherwise notified," the notice states. "During the period that you are on administrative leave you are not to enter USAID premises, access USAID systems, or attempt to use your position or authority with USAID in any way without my prior permission or prior permission of a supervisor in your chain of command," Marocco says in the letter. When a reporter told President Donald Trump on Tuesday that it sounded like he was going to "wind down" the agency, he laughed and said, "Sounds like it." "Look at all the fraud that he's found in this USAID," the president said of Elon Musk, the tech billionaire leading the Department of Governmental Efficiency. "It has to be corrupt," Trump added without evidence. Marocco's Tuesday letter instructed employees to email a USAID official with their "personal contact information, including your phone number, email and mailing address," so they can remain available during regular business hours. A USAID employee told CNN they emailed and got a bounceback, saying that person is also on leave. "People are hysterical. My friends are crying. We don't know what's going on," said one USAID official put on leave. They noted that officials posted abroad may have children in school or spouses with jobs, and now that is "all uprooted." "No access to any government system; can't see emails. It's like we're criminals," the official said. On Monday, thousands of personal services contractors and civil servants lost access to email and USAID systems overnight. The sudden chaos has left employees struggling to get any answers, officials said. Additionally, USAID headquarters and annex offices in the Washington, DC, area will remain closed the remainder of the week, according to an email sent to staff Tuesday and obtained by CNN. The offices closed include the headquarters in Washington; a second DC annex location; an office in Leesburg, Virginia; and one in Springfield, Virginia. "Agency personnel normally assigned to work at these USAID properties should telework this week," the email said. There are some exceptions for personnel with essential on-site and building maintenance functions, the email said. The email noted employees are still "expected to remain available during regular business hours and operations." Shortly after being sworn in last month, Trump issued a sweeping executive order pausing all foreign aid for 90 days, leading to widespread confusion, layoffs and program shutdowns. USAID was established in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy's administration and is the US government's humanitarian arm. It dispenses billions of dollars annually across the world in an effort to alleviate poverty, treat diseases, and respond to famines and natural disasters. Musk has led the Trump administration's effort to weaken USAID, falsely calling it a "viper's nest of radical-left marxists who hate America" and branding it a "criminal organization" that should "die." The Trump administration's actions have raised questions from Democrats over the legality of any wind-down of the agency that will likely have a dramatic consequence for global life-saving aid from the United States. — CNN
