Senior USAID Official Ousted After Standing Up Against Removal of Career Leadership
Dozens of senior civil servants and foreign service officers placed on leave, while hundreds of contractors are dismissed or furloughed.
A senior USAID official was placed on administrative leave Thursday after temporarily reversing an order to remove nearly 60 senior career leaders from their positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development. The decision, which was rescinded by Nick Gottlieb, USAID’s director of employee and labor relations, followed a pushback against efforts to sideline long-standing career staff.
According to multiple current and former USAID employees, the agency has been in turmoil since the State Department imposed a near-total freeze on U.S. foreign aid, as part of an executive order from former President Donald Trump. This freeze has led to the placement of dozens of senior career civil servants and foreign service officers on administrative leave, along with the firing and furloughing of hundreds of contractors. More furloughs are expected to follow, according to the sources.
Gottlieb's initial action to reinstate the career officials was praised for upholding the principle of due process for employees. He sent an email to those affected, stating that there was no evidence of misconduct on their part, but also acknowledging uncertainty about how long his decision would last. He cautioned that they may soon receive another notification reinstating their leave status, but emphasized his unwillingness to be complicit in any action that violated workers' rights.
Shortly after restoring the senior officials, Gottlieb himself was placed on administrative leave for refusing a request from the USAID front office and Trump’s newly established Department of Government Efficiency to issue immediate termination notices without due process. In a farewell letter to all USAID employees, Gottlieb explained his stance, citing his office’s commitment to ensuring due process for all employees, even as he faced pressure to act otherwise.
“It has been an honor working with all of you at this Agency, which I treasure,” Gottlieb wrote, urging his colleagues to be understanding as the agency's remaining staff would be significantly reduced.
While Gottlieb’s actions have drawn attention, USAID and the State Department have yet to respond to inquiries from NBC News.
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio expanded the waiver for the foreign aid freeze, ensuring that life-saving assistance would still be delivered. However, exemptions to the executive order have not halted the broader cuts to USAID’s workforce.
In an interview with Megyn Kelly, Rubio expressed concerns about the “foreign aid industrial complex” and emphasized the need to ensure that U.S. foreign aid is aligned with national interests. He argued that the aid system must prioritize resources for matters that are most impactful.
Jeremy Konyndyk, a former USAID official and current president of Refugees International, warned that these cuts could have long-term consequences. He described the intricate relationship between the U.S. government and its non-profit and contractor partners in delivering foreign aid, and noted that prolonged disruptions could severely damage the structure of U.S. foreign aid, which has been developed over the past 50 years.