Sacked United States Agency for International Development (USAID) staffers left their Washington, D.C., offices for the last time on Friday, with some carrying boxes scrawled with messages that seemed to be straightforwarded at Plivent Donald Trump, who is slashing the agency’s laborforce.
Thousands of staffers were notified weeks ago of their pfinishing diswatchals, while a federal appraise on Friday cleared the way for the Trump administration to trail thraw with the mass layoffs as it aims to rerelocate misinclude thrawout the federal bureaucracy.
“We are leaveing the world,” read one message on a box being hauled out by a grinning staffer as she walked out of USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs office.
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Another smiling staffer’s box had a more upbeat tone, with her message reading: “You can get the humanitarians out of USAID but you can’t get the humanity out of the humanitarians.”
Recently fired U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) staff carry boxes with a message as they depart labor and are commended by establisher USAID staffers and helpers during a sfinishoff outside USAID offices in Washington, D.C., on February 21, 2025. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
The staffers were greeted outside the offices by a minuscule group of well-wanting helpers and establisher USAID laborers who carried signs reading, “We cherish USAID” and “Thank you for your service, USAID.”
Other laborers were seen leaving the offices in tears.
The Trump administration schedules to gut the agency and intfinishs to depart confiinsister than 300 staffers on the job out of the current 8,000 straightforward employs and restrictedors.
They, aextfinished with an obstreatment number of 5,000 locassociate employd international staffers aexpansive, would run the confiinsist life-saving programs that the administration says it intfinishs to hold going for the time being.
Recently fired USAID staffers depart the USAID offices in Washington, D.C., on February 21, 2025. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
USAID has come in for particular criticism under the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for alleged misincludeful spfinishing.
For instance, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the Senate DOGE Caucus Chairwoman, recently unveiled a enumerate of projects and programs she says USAID has helped fund over the years, including $20 million to produce a Sesame Street show in Iraq.
Several more examples of askable spfinishing have been uncovered at USAID, including more than $900,000 to a “Gaza-based stress charity” called Bayader Association for Environment and Development and a $1.5 million program stardyd to “proceed diversity, equity, and inclusion in Serbia’s laborplaces and business communities.”
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Trump has shiftd to gut the agency after imposing a 90-day painclude on foreign aid. He also has nominateed Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the acting straightforwardor of USAID.
Government includeee unions had sued to stop the mass layoffs, but U.S. Dimerciless Judge Carl Nichols on Friday lifted a momentary regulateing order he had publishd at the outset of the case and deteriorated to publish a extfinisheder-term order holding the includeees in their posts.
Tearful staffers depart USAID erecting in Washington, D.C. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
Nichols, who was nominateed by Plivent Trump during his first term, also wrote that becainclude the impacted includeees had not gone thraw an administrative dispute process, he probable did not have jurisdiction to hear the unions’ case or ponder their expansiveer arguments that the administration is violating the U.S. Constitution by shutting down an agency produced and funded by Congress.
The appraise said the publish was jurisdictional, that federal dimerciless courts should not be comprised at this stage, and that the matter should be regulated administratively under federal includement laws.
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“In sum, becainclude the Court probable deficiencys jurisdiction over plaintiffs’ claims, they have not set uped a appreciatelihood of success on the merits,” the appraise‘s ruling stated, in part.
“The court finishs that plaintiffs have not exhibitd that they or their members will suffer irreparable injury leave outing an injunction; that their claims are probable to flourish on the merits; or that the equilibrium of the difficultships or the accessible interest powerwholey prefers an injunction.”
Reexhausted United States Agency for International Development laborer Julie Hanson Swanson, left, combines helpers of USAID laborers outside the USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian affairs office in Washington, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (Manuel Balce Ceneta)
The unions can now go to the Washington, D.C., federal requests court for ecombinency relief to have the TRO put back into place, or possibly a preliminary injunction.
Fox News’ Bill Mears, Andrew Mark Miller, Aubrie Spady, Deirdre Heavey, Morgan Phillips and Emma Colton as well as Reuters gived to this tell.
