USAID HQ staff asked to stay at home over possible shutdown
Staff of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) at the headquarters in Washington were asked to stay at home on Monday.
The workers reportedly received an email after midnight on Monday, saying that they should not come to the office and to work from home.
“At the direction of Agency leadership, the USAID headquarters at the Ronald Reagan building in Washington, D.C. will be closed to Agency personnel on Monday, February 3, 2025,” the email reads.
“Agency personnel normally assigned to work at USAID headquarters will work remotely tomorrow, with the exception of personnel with essential on-site and building maintenance functions individually contacted by senior leadership.”
The development comes after Elon Musk, Tesla and X CEO, said US President Donald Trump has agreed to shut down USAID.
USAID is the world’s leading international development agency, responsible for billions of dollars in US aid projects across the world.
Most of these funds are channeled into disaster relief efforts while promoting development and global health.
Speaking during an X Spaces stream around midnight on Sunday, Musk said he checked in with Trump a few times who said: “Yes we are shutting it down”.
There had been reports that Trump was planning to issue another executive order that would dismantle USAID and move its operations to the State Department.
Meanwhile, two top security officials at the agency have reportedly been placed on administrative leave.
The move was said to have been because the officials refused to allow personnel from the department of government efficiency (DOGE), run by Musk, to access classified material in restricted areas.
