Employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are being placed on administrative leave with pay “until further notice,” according to letters reviewed by The Hill.
Employees must be available by phone and email during business hours, according to the notice, which provides an email for them to contact “to end that.”
The letters come after most USAID employees lost access to internal systems over the weekend as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency put the agency through a “woodchipper.”
One USAID employee said they felt “helpless” after receiving the letter.
Another said they were “disappointed that our lawmakers in the majority seem complicit or at least tacitly approve.”
One employee who lost access Monday said they had not received a copy of the letter to their personal email.
“So once again, I’m left in the dark,” they said.
The letter was sent by Pete Marocco, who Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly tapped Tuesday to run USAID.
Neither USAID nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment from The Hill and questions about how many USAID employees received these letters.
A second internal communication reviewed by The Hill specified “USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs” on Friday at 11:59 p.m. ET. Essential personnel can expect to hear from Agency leadership by Thursday at 3 p.m.
“For USAID personnel currently posted outside the United States, the Agency, in coordination with missions and the Department of State, is currently preparing a plan, in accordance with all applicable requirements and laws, under which the Agency would arrange and pay for return travel to the United States within 30 days and provide for the termination of PSC and ISC contracts that are not determined to be essential. The Agency will consider case-by-case exceptions and return travel extensions based on personal or family hardship, mobility or safety concerns, or other reasons,” the notice stated.
The same message has been posted on USAID.gov, which has been dark since Saturday.
Updated at 9:32 p.m. EDT
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