America's main agency tasked with administering humanitarian aid to other countries has reportedly slashed its workforce from 10,000 to fewer than 300, according to a report.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has been all but eliminated by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, Wired reported, citing two employees. The DOGE task force is charged with slashing trillions out of the federal government and fulfilling a major campaign promise of President Donald Trump.
The gutting left USAID with 12 people in the agency’s Africa bureau and 8 people in its Asia bureau, according to the report. Some additional foreign workers will be retained, the two employees told Wired.
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“There are more impoverished people in Asia than anywhere else, and our presence has always helped counter the influence of China,” one employee said.
The news comes two days after USAID workers received an email informing them that all personnel would be placed on administrative leave beginning Friday. The order impacted everyone except those in "mission-critical functions."
USAID was established in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy with aims to distinguish between military and non-military aid and improve how foreign aid is allocated. The agency has a budget of about $40 billion, representing less than 1 percent of the total federal budget of $6.1 trillion.