Thousands of employees at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will be placed on leave from Friday night, the agency says.
A USAID statement said the order would affect all “direct-hire personnel” except those on “mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs”.
It follows a string of cuts President Donald Trump has made to government-funded programmes since returning to office last month. His administration has said USAID is wasting money and needs to align with its policy priorities.
Trump’s earlier decision to freeze foreign assistance has upended the global aid system, with effects already felt in countries such as Syria and Afghanistan.
In a statement on its website on Tuesday, USAID said it would work with the US Department of State to arrange and pay for return travel for its many personnel posted outside the US within the month.
Those employees who are part of the exceptions will be told by 15:00 EDT (20:00 GMT) on Thursday.
The statement concludes with the message: “Thank you for your service.”
The agency, which provides humanitarian aid to more than 100 countries, employs 10,000 people worldwide. Two-thirds of those people work overseas, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Given that some of its staff work in countries where conflict is taking place, it was not immediately clear how they would be withdrawn.
Since returning to the White House last month, Trump and his allies have prioritised slashing government funding – and have applied their focus to USAID.
Earlier this week, Trump’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio, became the acting head of USAID as part of its reported merger into the state department.
Questions remain about whether the administration has the authority to shut down programmes without consulting Congress. Democratic lawmakers called the reported merger an “illegal, unconstitutional” move.
On Tuesday, many USAID staffers received an email notifying them they had been placed on paid administrative leave.
The email, obtained by BBC News, told employees they must remain “available” by telephone and email during business hours, but were not allowed to enter USAID buildings.
Elon Musk, the billionaire Tesla CEO who was appointed to run a new agency to identify spending cuts in the US government, has suggested USAID should be shut down entirely, as it is “beyond repair”.
Many have cautioned that closing the agency’s doors would have devastating effects on vulnerable populations across the world.
USAID’s activities range from providing prosthetic limbs to soldiers injured in Ukraine, to clearing landmines and containing the spread of Ebola in Africa.
Democrats in Washington DC have been particularly critical of the move.
“[USAID is] a foreign policy tool with bipartisan origins that is critical in this dangerous global environment,” New Jersey Democratic Senator Andy Kim, who previously worked at USAID, wrote on social media.
“Gutting it means gutting our ability to compete and keep America safe.”
The agency, founded in 1961, has bases in 60 countries and works in dozens of others.
USAID managed more than $40bn (£32.25bn) in fiscal year 2023, according to the Congressional Research Service.
