5 months ago
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(NewsNation) — The State Department sent a missive Friday to Congress stating it volition beryllium taking implicit the functions of the United States Agency for International Development by July 1, 2025, efficaciously terminating each employees and closing the agency.
In a abstracted memo to employees of USAID, the State Department noted each positions not established by instrumentality volition beryllium eliminated. This "Reduction-In-Force" volition instrumentality spot connected 1 of 2 separation dates: July 1 oregon September 2, 2025.
NewsNation has obtained copies of some documents from a root acquainted with USAID operations.
Employees of USAID were besides asked to permission the office midday today, according to an worker NewsNation spoke with arsenic they departed.
The missive to Congress, written by Paul Guaglianone, elder bureau authoritative successful the Department of State's Bureau of Legislative Affairs, notes their intent is "to undertake a reorganization that would impact realigning definite USAID functions to the Department by July 1, 2025, and discontinuing the remaining USAID functions that bash not align with Administration priorities."
The missive delineates that the 5 bureaus of USAID would beryllium folded into the six determination bureaus of the Department of State and says planetary wellness programs, similar the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, would beryllium folded into State's Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy.
Both the memo and missive accidental the State Department volition behaviour a abstracted hiring process to capable its overseas assistance capacity, and USAID employees volition beryllium eligible to use for those roles.
Jeremy Konyndyk, the existent president of Refugees International and erstwhile USAID official, pushed backmost connected the State Department's announcement, pointing retired that closing USAID is amerciable without legislature approval.
He told NewsNation that Secretary of State Marco Rubio "is giving distant the crippled here. He intelligibly does not mean immoderate substantive consultation with Congress, overmuch little a legislative betterment package. He is trying to unlawfully circumvent Congress and daring them to halt him. Congress should propulsion backmost hard against this effort to undermine its authorization and Constitutional role."
This comes connected the aforesaid time that an earthquake struck Myanmar and Thailand. Department of State spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said that "USAID has maintained a squad of experts to supply contiguous assistance."
When NewsNation asked the State Department who was going to beryllium sent to enactment alleviation efforts, nary effect was provided.
Konyndyk said it was his knowing that the "small portion that had been trying to cobble unneurotic enactment for this earthquake response" was told to permission the bureau by 1 p.m. ET.
He besides said the bulk of unit who usually motorboat large catastrophe responses, the DART teams, had already gotten their termination notices and that the logistics contracts utilized to deploy alleviation flights and search-and-rescue teams were terminated successful the DOGE cuts.
"I don't deliberation Tammy Bruce has immoderate thought what she's talking about. It's beauteous hard to equine a catastrophe effect without responders and supplies," said Konyndyk.
