‘A Horror Film’: USAID Workers Panic, Lash Out As Trump Admin Guts Agency Over Waste

Employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are lashing out over the Trump administration’s decision to gut the agency over waste and “completely uncooperative” staffers.

Reports indicate that USAID, which had an annual budget of about $40 billion and 13,000 staffers, will be slashed down to about 290 employees. The move comes after the Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, revealed shocking waste at the agency, including millions for LGBT activism in Guatemala and DEI advancement in Serbia.

One USAID staffer, speaking to NPR, complained about the massive cuts. “There is no bottom to this stupidity,” the employee said.

A USAID official echoed the same, telling the outlet, “Might as well shut it all down. 290 people won’t be able to do anything.”

One employee recalled a virtual meeting that took place on Monday, when staffers were leaving the meeting as they were receiving emails about their access being shut off. “It was like from a horror film,” the person said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this past week that, initially, the goal was to reform USAID. However, when they were met with resistance from the agency, they were forced to take drastic action.

“They have basically evolved into an agency that believes that they’re not even a U.S. government agency,” Rubio told Fox News, “that they are a global charity, that they take the taxpayer money and they spend it as a global charity irrespective of if it’s in the national interest or not in the national interest.”

“They’re completely uncooperative,” Rubio added. “So we had no choice but to take dramatic steps to bring this thing under control.”

????RUBIO: USAID rife with “rank insubordination” — “we had no choice but to take dramatic steps to bring this thing under control.”

“They have basically evolved into an agency that believes that they’re not even a U.S. government agency…they’re completely unresponsive. They… pic.twitter.com/LQOKRDUlBk

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) February 4, 2025

The “U.S. Agency for International Development” lettering outside the USAID headquarters in Washington, D.C., was removed on Friday. The same day, a federal judge paused the Trump administration’s action to lay off 2,200 of USAID workers, scheduling a hearing on the matter for February 12.

Related: DOGE Scores Legal Win After Labor Unions Sue To Stop Access To View Potential Waste