The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.
© Thomson Reuters 2025.Trump administration to keep only 294 USAID staff out of over 10,000 globally, sources say
By Jonathan Landay, Patricia Zengerle and Erin Banco WASHINGTON©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
95 Comments
nishikat
This is going to cost the tax payers a lot of money in the US
Proof:
Former FBI agent Peter Strzok reaches $1.2 million settlement with DOJ: Lawyers
(News source)
Times that by 10,000 and what number do you get? What's 10,000 times one million dollars (or more)? Can you do the math Trump people? Thanks for all that tax waste Trump. We Americans pay for a nice retirement for 10,000 people due to Trump stupidity.
GBR48
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for China to walk in and buy influence away from the US. I doubt they could have ever imagined that such an opportunity would be gifted to them by the US government.
Blacklabel
12 billion dollars, once.
what do they spend, per year?
that’s some serious cost savings! Up to 28 billion for 2025 and up to 40 billion every year after.
No more $15,000 individual subscriptions to “Politico Pro” or donations to AP or the BBC. No more Iraq Sesame Street or overseas LGB events. Great news!
I'veSeenFootage
Donald Trump working hard to increase those unemployment numbers!
Tokyo Guy
claims he wants to support Christianity and "bring God back" into America
guts an agency which helped the poor and needy.
moron supporters completely fail to see the inconsistency.nishikat
Way more than that. Remember, Fed workers (in the 100s of thousands) are being harassed as well. I'm guess between 2~3 hundred billion. Max....half a trillion. Remember Trump is such a poor manager that he can't even keep a casino in business and now he has become President Elon's Poodle.
Blacklabel
nope. and nope again.
Just some of what this agency is actually funding:
well we were feeding people at least: Al Qaeda fighters in Syria.
The_Beagle
Cut the head off the snake.
nishikat
I understand and nothing is perfect but it did some good like fund HIV drugs for pregnant women. But ok then China can take over with Belt and Road. On the America side Trump is trying to get rid of stuff like cancer research (can't be replaced by private sector only), meals in wheels, and subsidized school lunches.
Tokyo Guy
So, Blacklabel. Let's see.
USAID's decentralized network of resident field missions is drawn on to manage U.S. government programs in low-income countries for various purposes.[12]
Disaster relief
Poverty relief
Technical cooperation on global issues, including the environment
U.S. bilateral interests
Socioeconomic development
As you presumably identify as republican, I can see how you'd consider improving the environment, and helping the poor and those affected by disaster to be a waste of time, but you're also against "US bilateral interests"?
Very patriotic.
GuruMick
Now which country will move in to fill the whole the Trump decision leaves.....China.
So China gets more influence and leverage simply because of a know nothing POTUS.
Some things beyond the orange ones thinking.
GuruMick
Sorry..."Hole', not "whole "
Blacklabel
Odd, as you list what they claimed to do.
i listed what they actually funded.
where does Iraqi Sesame Street and LGB parties fit in? Poverty? Disaster? Technical advancement? Environment?
China can have all these countries we trying to “buy”.
bass4funk
Someone give this man a Nobel Geez, this guy is just fantastic.
JJE
Musk wrote in X a few days ago, he and his employees "spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper."
Good riddance. That is one of the most scandalous agencies around.
quercetum
There is no “aid” in USAID. From 10,000 to 300. You have to appreciate Trump.
The country is trillions in debt. Got to trim the fat. Take one for the team. And not all if you are doing humanitarian work.
Poison pen groups in Hong Kong and Taiwan secretly funded by the US to demonize China are set to crash and be DOGEd.
The groups which dutifully spread tales about the "Uyghur genocide" and "oppressed" Hong Kong and Taiwan need emergency cash after the withdrawal of hidden dollars from Washington DC.
https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/with-us-funding-freeze-china-nonprofits-are-facing-extinction-they-need-emergency-assistance/
This comes from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and the article written by Bethany Allen – a relentless China investigator, who now works for ASPI.
She fails to mention though that taking underhand cash from "adversary" nations for political interference is strictly illegal in the United States, and in Australia as well
ASPI I recall was the group that infamously issued aerial pictures of schools and buildings in China and falsely claimed that they were prisons in Xinjiang where the minorities were kept. The dead giveaway were the Chinese characters on various random municipal buildings. At least hire somebody who can read Chinese!
nishikat
Exactly and that's why it's really Presidents Elon, Putin, and Xi with Mr. Trump as their little poodle that they like to pass around.
It's slightly on the propaganda side at times I admit (which is why I don't listen to all their stuff) but they have real lawyers giving real legal analysis about how Trump is screwing up. Check Meidas Touch, Legal AF, and Talking Feds on YouTube. Talking Feds was explaining why the US government will have to hire many many outside law firms for th mess that President Musk and his little poodle Mr. Trump have created. They brought up the fired FBI cases mentioned above so times that with many many (a lot more than 10,000)
I'veSeenFootage
I don't think there's a Nobel prize in "cutting financial aid to worldwide NGOs".
lincolnman
Trump handing Xi and the CCP another gift - that must have been some "huuuuge" payoff Elon the Bagman received when he met with Xi several weeks ago...
Probably at least tens of millions of dollars plus a promise of more Chinese tech worker immigrants to replace US ones...
JJE
Revealed (Trump and Musk have been posting about all the things they've discovered) that it spent $8mil each year subsidizing a well-known European based new agency - that happens to pump out all sorts of controversial stuff.
Funds something like almost 1000 "news media" outlets and "NGO media" groups, all around the world. In other words, it is financing mass propaganda on an industrial scale.
For example, nine out of ten media outlets in Ukraine are funded by it.
This is the tip of the iceberg.
Wasabi
America is going down hard and China, Europe and others will take the place.
bass4funk
I am just happy he did this, just great!
JJE
To clarify, USAID was funding over 6,200 journalists across 707 media outlets and 279 "media" NGOs worldwide, including nine out of ten media outlets in Ukraine alone.
Great that everyone now has this actual information. No wonder they wanted to keep a lid on it. This is why people are so misinformed.
theFu
I'd like to hear about the TSA being shut down. THAT would make a huge impact and save lots of time and money. I miss the days of getting to an airport 30 min before a commercial flight AND still making it on the plane. It will never be as convenient as flying private, but there's only so much that anyone should have to take from a govt agency.
Remember all the calls to make the TSA workers govt employees so they'd be "professional"? I'm tired of them putting their hands inside my pants and not being allowed to have nail clippers with me or a tiny pocket knife.
is only controversial if it is factual AND makes govts uneasy. Mostly govts that are ruled by autocrats, so that's a good thing. "NGO" isn't a bad word provided they find facts and tell the truth. Facts are facts and the more Putin denies anything, the more likely it is a fact.
onedragon
This is great for cleaning out the Government. It is usually done about every 50 years.
I'veSeenFootage
Nope. People are misinformed because of Fox News, OAN, Newsmax, and Russian bot farms.
JJE
This is incredible - Reuters got millions for something called "Social Engineering and Social Deception", whatever that means. Certainly sounds colorful.
Underworld
Blacklabel
guts an agency which helped the poor and needy.
Actually, it does help the poor and needy.
The same people who kicked Assad out of Syria. Money well spent.
You may not agree on what USAID is spending money on, but it was approved by Congress.
If you want to change it, you have to get Congress to change it. DOGE has no authority to alter previously approved funds without going through Congress.
TokyoLiving
Ruining the country ASAP..
Blacklabel
exactly the places that told us about the hidden wasteful spending of US Aid.
and who even told us about the secret payments to the “news organizations” that were the ones not telling us anything.
Blacklabel
what gift? These countries:
Ukraine, followed by Ethiopia, Jordan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Yemen and Afghanistan?
great! China can fund their wars and corruption and reconstruction and social programs. Please!
bass4funk
Exactly
lincolnman
"The Trump administration’s moves to dismantle the U.S. agency that helps to fight starvation and poverty overseas has stoked fears that America will lose its standing on the world stage as rival powers rush to fill the void. Concerns are growing in Washington that temporarily halting assistance from the U.S. Agency for International Development “opens up a window for China and Russia,”
Exactly what Xi and Putin want...and their Puppet gave them...
What's his next "gift" to his "string pullers" that ruins America's reputation and standing in the world?
Blacklabel
”Congress” has a 14% approval rate for a reason.
and seems DOGE can, because they are.
seems Rubio also can, because he did.
we won’t be continuing sending American taxpayer dollars to things Americans don’t care about.
when that stops, Americans can certainly pass less taxes. Which everyone is for.
you want to feed Al Qaeda? You can send your own personal money to them.
you want a fed worker to have “pro” access to Politico? You can sign up and pay it for them.
The taxpayers are done.
nickybutt
Trump gifts China world leader position.
Time to start stduying Chinese.
Blacklabel
they can HAVE those countries.
And pay all the costs of having them.
do XI and Putin really want these countries except Ukraine? Haven’t heard such.
I can’t be any more clear- they can have them, we can freely give those away as they have no value to us.
which country we giving away concerns you and why?
itsonlyrocknroll
Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said the administration was identifying and designating programs that would be exempted from the sweeping stop-work orders, which have threatened efforts around the globe to stop the spread of disease, prevent famine and otherwise alleviate poverty.
This is the overwhelming mandate President Trump administration has been judged at the ballot box by US people
Sorry to point out a harsh reminder.
Election 2024: Presidential results
https://edition.cnn.com/election/2024/results/president?election-data-id=2024-PG&election-painting-mode=projection-with-lead&filter-key-races=false&filter-flipped=false&filter-remaining=false
Donald Trump demanded and promised ruthless change in office day one, every nook and cranny.
Every federal department, USAID has been deemed totally unfit for purpose.
Be prepared for change in other areas, that this new administration has also judged to be damaged beyond repair,
There could also be individuals considered must be held accountable personally.
The democrats in both houses can forge a creditable opposition, with clear alternative policies or remain in a political wilderness.
Bob Fosse
If someone has to keep telling you how happy they are they most likely aren’t very happy at all.
nishikat
That's fine and each fired person gets several million and free healthcare and pension for life for these illegal firings. Then they can move on to another career like social work. I guess I would take that deal. I've always wanted to get rich from social work. Remember Trump is doing this with 100s of thousands of workers and these harassment claims could reach half a trillion if legal expenses and settlements and/or judgements.
bass4funk
I disagree vehemently with that.
Wasabi
Like the us now want Gaza? trump will displace 2M person to build a Rivera? Will you paid for this?
Bob Fosse
Sure you do.
I disagree vehemently with someone happy about this:
”"That's outrageous," said J. Brian Atwood, who served as head of USAID for more than six years, adding the mass termination of personnel would effectively kill an agency that has helped keep tens of millions of people around the world from dying.
"A lot of people will not survive," said Atwood, now a senior fellow at Brown University's Watson Institute.”
itsonlyrocknroll
The government of China is not going to step in!!
There is no geo political reason to do so.
The huge costs required would offer no short medium long term valve either political or economic.
Forgotten UN appalling assessment of government of China record on human rights,
The acts of genocide of/to its own people
Attilathehungry
Tell me what compelling interest there is for a hardworking single mother in America to fund pronoun research in Sri Lanka to the tune of $8 million.
If people want to donate to charities to help other countries, they are free to do so. Not the government's job.
sdf_crew_member
Not yet. I'll wait.
I'veSeenFootage
Yup, exactly. Misinformation machines. Which is why you should take everything they report with a truckful of salt. Like when Fox News tells you "USAID" is spending 50 millions on condoms for Hamas". Complete fabrication.
JJE
Musk and his team are going line by line through the books. They are working 24/7, sleeping in the office (which also saves money too).
Amazing what selfless, dedicated workers they are. Getting to the bottom of this barnacle infested, rotten, wonky ship and righting it.
This agency has become a frankenstein accountable to no one and it needs to stop last week.
No doubt 294 staff can do a better job than 10 thou and get back to doing honest foreign aid that actually helps people.
quercetum
Not at all, Trump is more of a world leader in Season 2. How can you not applaud what he's doing?
nishikat
Watch Talking Feds in YouTube and you get the legal explanation. You don't like it, but this is the real legal world. Non Trump people don't like it that J6 cop beaters were pardoned.... but again we are dealing with the law and not what anyone likes or hates. 300000 emails? Hillary not in jail? Hunter pardoned? Sorry....it's the law.
GuruMick
MAGA people here showing "meanness " as a defining character trait.
Why shouldn't the worlds richest country pay money to help poor nations improve. ? Or even survive ?
Next thing you'll hear will be Trump wanting the return of "Christian values " to the USA.
Oh wait...he did already...
Hypocrite...
bass4funk
Well, this won't be a problem, thank God!
No reason for Dems to have a slush fund anymore; this has finally come to an end, and the Dems are not happy? Wonder why....
$2 million for Moroccan pottery classes
$2 million promoting tourism to Lebanon
$20 million for a Sesame Street show in Iraq
Sending Ukranians to Paris Fashion Week
$1.5 million for DEl in Serbia
$70,000 for a DEl musical in Ireland
$47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia
$32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru
$2 million for sex changes in Guatemala
$6 million for tourism in Egypt
$1 million to help disabled people in Tajikistan become climate leaders
$15 million for 'contraceptives and condoms' in Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan
kurisupisu
The waste from the agency was despicable. I’m sure that China will be able to take over funding sex change operations in Guatemala and good luck to them!
lincolnman
Posts like this just reinforces the fact that our MAGA-fans have on blinders
You think USAID ONLY operates in those countries?
it helps almost every nation in South and Northeast Asia - countries in China's backyard that they would love to move into with money and aid - to counter-balance all the hardball they play with their nine-dash line...
Get real...this was a gift to Xi - compliments of his business partner Donald....
bass4funk
By wanting to cut wasteful spending, oh, the horror!
Why? How and for what reason?
JJE
Above is correct:
USAID paid for Ukraine models and designers to take trips to NYC, London Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week, and South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.
lincolnman
Even after getting caught yesterday, our MAGA-friends are still posting clearly bogus misinformation from the far-right media sphere...
Give it a rest, ain't nobody buying it...except the suckers...
BB
The assessment of a former head of USAid, Samantha Power: (yes, not a neutral view, but worth listening to nonetheless)
We are witnessing one of the worst and most costly foreign policy blunders in U.S. history. Less than three weeks into Donald Trump’s second term, he, Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have halted the U.S. Agency for International Development’s aid programs around the world. In so doing, they have imperiled millions of lives, thousands of American jobs and billions of dollars of investment in American small businesses and farms while severely undermining our national security and global influence — all while authoritarians and extremists celebrate their luck.
I am shocked by the gleeful assault perpetrated by our own government against U.S.A.I.D.’s programs and the public servants who work on them. But after running the agency for four years, I am not surprised that the attacks are being cheered by Moscow and Beijing. They understand what those seeking to dismantle the agency are desperate to hide from the American people: U.S.A.I.D. has become America’s superpower in a world defined by threats that cross borders and amid growing strategic competition.
The assistance provided by U.S.A.I.D. comes in many forms, and with a budget of less than 1 percent of the U.S. government’s overall annual spending, it, alone, is no panacea for the world’s major challenges. Like all government agencies, it could be more efficient, and making it so was an effort I spearheaded during my tenure. Yet for much of the world population, the investments and work of U.S.A.I.D. make up the primary (and often only) contact with the United States.
Some investments save lives almost immediately — like the medicines dispensed to 500,000 children with H.I.V., or the nutrient-rich food manufactured in states like Rhode Island and Georgia that pulls starving children from the brink of death. Out of the $38 billion that U.S.A.I.D. spent in fiscal year 2023, nearly $20 billion was for health programs (such as those that combat malaria, tuberculosis, H.I.V./AIDS and infectious disease outbreaks) and humanitarian assistance to respond to emergencies and help stabilize war-torn regions. Other U.S.A.I.D. investments are less visible but pay dividends in the longer term, such as giving girls a chance to get an education and enter the work force, or growing local economies.
The whole world is connected - health, economics, security, climate - the US should be part of the world.
bass4funk
Nothing bogus, now the Dems got caught and like cockroaches are made that the truth came out and what they are doing by wasteful spending of our money.
Sorry, the Dems got caught, that excuse doesn't work anymore.
iknowall
No, because when Congress approved about $1 billion to continue building the wall, Biden issued a proclamation to terminate and divert the money that was intended for the wall.
Trump has every right, and is right, for doing what he is doing.
Remember back in October when Democrats were trying to paint Trump as having low energy?
Wow, were they royally wrong!
Underworld
bass4funk
It has nothing to do with Dems. It's a government agency and it is funded by Congress. From my last look the GOP have a majority in Congress.
nishikat
Just to confirm....this stuff is all false? OK What is not false is the potential half a trillion dollars from legal expenses from Trump's mass firings and harassments. Like the above examples with FBI agents.
But I think treating pregnant women for HIV? Is there a problem with that?
wallace
"The White House issued a press release three days ago apparently designed to justify the ongoing stop-work orders at USAID, alongside pulling agency staff out of the field and locking them out of their offices. I’d argue the release demonstrates precisely why these moves are a mistake."
https://www.cgdev.org/blog/white-house-demonstrates-usaids-efficiency
Underworld
iknowall
Nope. He doesn't.
They were painting him as a dictator.
Wow, were they royally right!
wallace
The DOD wastes hundreds of billions on weapons that don't work, but no one is suggesting the Pentagon should be shut down.
bass4funk
It does since they are the ones that oppose this being public whether Musk reveals this or not.
Which Musk is a part of.
Well, there you go.
patkim
I'm fine with some cost-cutting measures being taken. What I'm not fine with is this sham of an "organization" allowing some twenty-something year-olds who are unqualified, not elected, and not properly vetted or trained, access to our personal information in the form of social security numbers, etc. Heck, we don't really fully trust properly trained government officials to handle them. How can we live with this DOGE gestapo fiddle with our personal information?
bass4funk
Yes, especially now, that it is all underway.
Blacklabel
the article identifies these as “the top recipients” of US Aid.
Blacklabel
American women, no problem at all.
lincolnman
I have a suggestion for these fired workers...
First refuse to accept it and claim it was all "rigged"...
Then come up with a slate of fake hiring officials who claim in writing that you weren't fired...
Then find a lackey that will go in front of a court and present your fake list and demand that everything be redone...
Hey, it almost worked four years ago...
Underworld
bass4funk
It has nothing to do with Dems.
No, they don't.
But they do oppose Musk getting access to private data he has no authority to see.
It's a government agency and it is funded by Congress.
No he isn't.
From my last look the GOP have a majority in Congress.
So if they want to change any funding they have to get their Congress to do it.
iknowall
You are wrong. You don't understand how the US Constitution works?
And then he goes and gets elected under the rules of a democracy! Weird how that works.
And he really gave Harris a beating. The Republicans took back the House and Senate in a storm.
Is that the Democrats new conspiracy, that all elected government officials who are Republicans are dictators?
No wonder the US voters spoke with authority and swept out the useless democrats.
lincolnman
Right, you were wrong...roundabout way of admitting it, but thanks...
And the suckers continue to get manipulated and played...
Blacklabel
gotta love this “but muh private data” strawman.
China already has already had all your data for almost a decade:
CS
Exactly, The USA is supposed the leader of the free world not the lackey of the free world.
Cleaning up the Government has my full support.
Blacklabel
500 million Marriot hotel guests in 2018.
21.5 million federal employees in 2014.
80 million costumers of Anthem insurance in 2015.
China already knows more about you than a DOGE kid will ever see.
And if you aren’t even American? it doesn’t even concern you as your data isn’t there.
lincolnman
That was a huge FLIP - now he's saying Trump's 2020 coup attempt was an "excuse" - well, that's an improvement...
ROFL...can't get much weaker than that - happens when they're checkmated...
JustAGoodOleBoy
Good. We can't afford it and don't need it.
lincolnman
Really gotta love this....
Who was the President in 2017 and deserves the blame for this huge national security breach?
Wanna tell us?
patkim
Even top military personnel need proper training and education on the handling of personal information before being given clearance to handle any and all personal information. Yet, Trump and his goons continue to hand out clearances and access to confidential information like it was candy. Isn't that illegal?
I'veSeenFootage
There's no better way of make people know you're not a serious person than using 4chanisms.
Tokyo Guy
I just saw a statistic that said USAID used to buy around 2 billion dollars worth of crops from American farmers every year.
I assume said farmers are fine with their vote for Trump.
lincolnman
Surprised? As one of our MAGA-friends here likes to post, "hardly"...
"A member of President Donald Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency resigned after The Wall Street Journal asked the White House about ties between the staffer and a deleted social media account that promoted racism and eugenics, the paper reported Thursday.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed to the Journal that the staffer in question, 25-year-old Marko Elez, departed his role after the outlet inquired about an alarming X account possibly belonging to him. The account, which was deleted in December, once carried the handle @marko_elez and had posted multiple racist comments, including: “Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool,” “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity” and “Normalize Indian hate.”
How many more of these closet degenerate DOGE racists are still out there?
patkim
I finally got it: DOGE stands for the "Department of Greedy and Entitled". Seems fitting for Elon's Gestapo. It sets a precedent though. In the future, it's okay for future presidencies to allow their own formation of a group of unqualified people to go in and take over any company they see fit, with no oversight. It's just funny that Trump goes all ballistic over "DEI hires" when he himself hires people who are unqualified, family members and friends.
Blacklabel
if so, the remaining 294 employees can focus the remaining budget there.
That’s only 2 billion (of 40 total) where is the other 38 going?
bass4funk
Something that liberals will say, translation, white towel they throw in
They think.
Tokyo Guy
lincolnmanToday 01:54 pm JST
Surprised? As one of our MAGA-friends here likes to post, "hardly"...
*"A member of President Donald Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency resigned after The Wall Street Journal asked the White House about ties between the staffer and a deleted social media account that promoted racism and eugenics,** the paper reported Thursday.*
*White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed to the Journal that the staffer in question, 25-year-old Marko Elez, departed his role after the outlet inquired about an alarming X account possibly belonging to him. The account, which was deleted in December, once carried the handle @marko_elez and had *posted multiple racist comments, including: “Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool,” “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity” and “Normalize Indian hate.”
How many more of these closet degenerate DOGE racists are still out there?
Only surprised that he resigned. I would have thought statements like that made him Musk's ideal employee.
Tokyo Guy
it's getting so bad, he's sounding like Yoda...ROFL...
Wrong it is to mock the syntax of Texas residents, but resist one can not!
patkim
Those are the type of people they hire. I'd be willing to bet the staffers of USAID are more qualified than DOGE. Heck, I've been hearing story after story of people who have been pardoned by Trump over Jan. 6th, who have gotten rearrested for other crimes. Up to ten at last count. MAGAs are all alike. They like to commit acts of violence and then ask questions later.
JJE
Here is a photo of the previous head of USAID (Biden appointee). Take note of the folder she is carrying:
https://x.com/ricwe123/status/1887456521153618111
lincolnman
Thanks for admitting he's a degenerate - and the question was how many are still out there?
When they "whatabout", its just another admission of defeat...
Tokyo Guy
Yeah. I thought Musk was against DEI, but he clearly employs mentally challenged people.
I think he mainly looks for people like himself: people from one-percenter backgrounds, preferably racist as all get-out, and willing to overlook every ethical boundary in the book.