The State Department has begun recalling employees of all USAID foreign aid programs
The US Department of State has started work on the withdrawal of USAID employees from international business trips. This was reported by ABC News on February 5, citing interlocutors.
It is specified that the State Department intends to recall all employees by Saturday, February 8.
According to the interlocutors of ABC News, the estimated number of foreign employees of USAID is from 1.5 thousand to 2 thousand people.
An interlocutor familiar with the U.S. intergovernmental agency's plans called Feb. 8 a "crazy deadline" that many will not be able to meet. In addition, many USAID workers abroad have nowhere to turn for answers, as even some United States ambassadors are unaware of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration's plans.
"It's cruel to evict them and bring them back to Washington like criminals and still have to deal with families and logistics," the former USAID employee said.
Earlier on Feb. 4, Trump said he plans to abolish the Agency for International Development (USAID) because of fraud. He noted that agency officials may have received kickbacks for funding decisions.
Before that, on February 3, American billionaire Ilon Musk announced the launch of a process to eliminate USAID. Also the entrepreneur said that the agency is not recoverable and should be gotten rid of.
At the same time, US President Donald Trump called the heads of USAID radical madmen. In a conversation with journalists, he said that his administration will decide on the future of the agency.
On January 20, the White House website published Trump's executive order on suspending Washington's development aid to other countries for 90 days. Later, on January 25, Reuters reported that USAID froze programs to support foreign countries, including Ukraine, after a State Department dispatch approved by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
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