USAID workers take personal belongings from headquarters in Washington after DOGE layoffs

WASHINGTON: The US Agency for International Development (USAID) workers were allowed to briefly re-enter the headquarters in Washington on Thursday to take their personal belongings, ABC News reported. USAID staffers said they were disheartened after Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) laid them off or put them on leave.

The development comes at a time when multiple reports have claimed that US President Donald Trump’s administration is eliminating over 90 per cent of the USAID foreign contracts, along with $60 billion in global aid worldwide, The Hill reported. USAID staffers taking their belongings were cheered by their family, friends and supporters gathered outside the as they exited the building with their personal belongings.

Most USAID officials have been placed on administrative leave and many others have been fired, The Hill reported. The move comes as Donald Trump wants to transform federal spending to align with his administration’s agenda.

USAID workers cry as they leave their workspace for the last time.

One tears the tape covering the USAID lettering in a bizarre act of defiance.

The sense of entitlement and petulance out of this group of adults is exactly why they shouldn’t be working for the American people. pic.twitter.com/QR5qzwzOy8

— Paul A. Szypula (@Bubblebathgirl) February 28, 2025

Amanda, who worked in science and technology at USAID and did not want to share her last name out of fear of retribution, said, “The more I talk about it, the more I want to cry”. As she waited to enter the building to get her things, she said, “It’s heartbreaking,” ABC News reported.

Melissa, who also did not share her last name, said, “It feels profoundly disrespectful to workers, to people who are dedicating themselves to making things better globally, making things better elsewhere so that they don’t come here, so the problems don’t come here.” She also spoke about the short time they were allotted.

Previously, she worked on democracy programs in Ukraine and anti-corruption efforts. She added, “I mean and we’re all people, right.” She further said, “We have kids to take care of, we have parents to take [care] of who are aging and we’re all struggling with that as well.”

Caitlin Harwood, who is mother of 4-year-old girl and a 9-month-old, said she is “worried” about her next month’s salary and is unsure regarding what is next for her.

Harwood said, “I think there’s a way to go about that. I don’t think anybody would have been as terrified as they are now if they had come through and said we are going to have a program review”. She further said, “So, this is not efficiency, and it’s actually costing the American people billions in dollars in wasted food, wasted medicine”.

The heartbreak

Trump wants us to believe that USAID is bankrupting America—when in reality, it’s less than 1% of the federal budget.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk—the richest man on Earth—is gutting the world’s largest provider of food aid. This is a man who could end world hunger… pic.twitter.com/5h8tRu5uw0

— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) February 23, 2025

Ben Thompson, who worked in communications before being laid off by USAID, said he had been under a “communications freeze” since the early days of the Trump administration.

Speaking to reporters, Thompson said, “Powerful, evil men are targeting a lot of good people who have dedicated their lives to something bigger than themselves, which is something that somebody like Elon [Musk] can’t relate to”. He added, “This clearly isn’t about government waste, fraud and abuse. He’s not going through with a fine-toothed comb — he’s tearing down our institutions for fun”.

When supporters arrived outside the building, black tape had been put over the name of USAID on the signs outside of the Ronald Reagan Building. Kate Parsons, a worker who was laid off last week from the the USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, removed the tape and said she had come to support her colleagues.

Speaking to ABC News, Parsons stated, “I don’t know who put that tape up, but I know that USAID is still here. We are still here”. She said, “Only Congress can shut down USAID — it’s a government agency. The current leadership is trying to dismantle it. They’re trying to do it so quickly and so sloppily that people don’t notice or people can’t stop it, but they haven’t fired us all yet”, She said, “This fight is not done yet”. (ANI)