President Donald Trump’s administration said that approximately 2,000 USAID personnel in the U.S. will be terminated and others around the world will be placed on administrative leave just before midnight on Sunday.
“As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally,” a notice on the government’s website reads.
Recently fired U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) staff react as they leave work and are applauded by former USAID staffers and supporters during a sendoff outside USAID offices in Washington, D.C., Feb. 21, 2025.
Brian Snyder/Reuters
USAID indicates that there will be an exception for employees who handle mission-critical functions.
According to the USAID government website, employees will receive individual notices on Sunday as well as instructions within the next week to retrieve their belongings from the USAID workplace in Washington, D.C.
The notice also suggests that overseas personnel will retain access to agency systems and to diplomatic resources until they return from overseas safely.
-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh