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New York Times
14 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Missteps, Confusion and ‘Viral Waste': The 14 Days That Doomed U.S.A.I.D.
Eric Lee/The New York Times Within two weeks of President Trump's return to the White House, U.S.A.I.D. was on the cusp of oblivion. On Inauguration Day, Mr. Trump signed an order pausing foreign aid. But its instructions were unclear, even to his own appointees. Soon after, U.S.A.I.D. told aid groups to stop work on projects around the world and forbade staff from answering questions from those groups. Inside the agency, employees began resisting demands they saw as illegal or dangerous. The Trump administration viewed those acts as insubordination — and reacted by deciding to dismantle the agency. Supported by It was the day of President Trump's inauguration, and the U.S. Agency for International Development's new director looked like he might pass out, as the color drained from his face. Jason Gray, U.S.A.I.D.'s chief information officer, who had been at the agency for only two years, had just learned he would be in charge, effective immediately. Mr. Gray wasn't supposed to be the boss. The outgoing Biden administration had selected somebody with more foreign aid experience to manage U.S.A.I.D. until the new president chose, and Congress approved, a permanent administrator. But Mr. Trump's team, apparently eager to reverse any decisions by the former president, told Mr. Gray to take the helm instead. Inside the agency's offices, Mr. Gray's colleagues gathered around, trying to buck him up. Yes, the job would be challenging under Mr. Trump, whose 'America First' politics weren't exactly sympathetic to sending U.S. taxpayer money around the world. But U.S.A.I.D. had come through the first Trump administration largely unscathed, and Marco Rubio, the incoming secretary of state, was a longtime supporter. A little after 4 p.m., Mr. Gray issued an upbeat memo to the agency's more than 10,000 employees, telling them to expect a focus on innovation and new partnerships. 'The next four years offer a great opportunity for our agency,' he wrote. Two weeks later, U.S.A.I.D. was on the cusp of oblivion — its programs around the world stopped, its staff in Washington told to stay home. Trump appointee at the State Department who oversaw the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. Acting U.S.A.I.D. administrator for the first two weeks of the Trump administration. Mr. Trump's secretary of state, and one-time U.S.A.I.D. advocate. Replaced Mr. Gray as acting administrator. Member of the DOGE team at U.S.A.I.D. Head of DOGE. Personally intervened on multiple occasions to tell U.S.A.I.D. employees what to do. Member of the DOGE team at U.S.A.I.D., a 23-year-old computer scientist. First came to U.S.A.I.D. as a DOGE member. Later replaced Mr. Marocco as director of foreign assistance. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CBS News
13-05-2025
- CBS News
Castle Rock works to preserve rich history as Colorado town grows
May is Historic Preservation Month, and one fast-growing community in Douglas County, Colorado, is working to ensure new development doesn't overshadow its rich history. The Town of Castle Rock was founded in 1874. Castle Rock DCL Archives and Local History One hundred fifty years later, CBS Colorado's Olivia Young sat down with the town's mayor to learn more about her hometown's history and his vision for Castle Rock's future. Back in 1900, only about 300 people lived in Castle Rock. In 2000, that number was a little over 20,000 people, and today it's nearly 90,000. "These started out as a rail town," said Castle Rock Mayor Jason Gray. "You know, we had a rhyolite mine that was mine here." Castle Rock Mayor Jason Gray believes Castle Rock's history should play a role in its future. "We try to make sure that we preserve our history and preserve our old buildings," Gray said. One of those buildings is the Cantril School, which was built as a wooden schoolhouse in 1875. "The Cantril School is probably our most historic building in town," Gray said. Cantril School DCL Archives and Local History, Castle Rock, Colorado When a fire burned the school to the ground in 1896, the stone building that stands today was erected in its place and taught Castle Rock students until 1983. In 2023, the town bought the school and now uses it for arts programming while they make improvements to the building. "We got this great building, and we will preserve it," Gray said. Blocks away, many more historic buildings can be found in Castle Rock's downtown, including the City Hotel, which is being restored. "Ours is a natural downtown. It's, you know, Wilcox and Perry Street, and you know, you'll go by, you know, seven or eight, really, just gorgeous buildings, and then you'll have a newer building next to it," Gray said. New neighborhoods are set to bring thousands of homes to town in the next few years. A new Interstate 25 interchange is underway, and major retail developments and a cancer center are also on their way. "I think that we do a really good job of trying to keep our small-town feel, especially downtown, but give up big-town amenities," Gray said. Some community members have worried that the growth is too much. "I can't deny that we're not growing. We're growing at a much slower rate than we were a few years ago," Gray said. But Gray said the town is growing smart, and keeping its history in mind. "There's a long time where Castle Rock was basically a gas stop, you know, on the way to Colorado Springs," Gray said. "And I think that we have a really neat identity now, and we kind of own our identity and Western heritage." Castle Rock DCL Archives and Local History, Castle Rock, Colorado If you'd like to take yourself on a tour of downtown Castle Rock and learn more about its history, there is a link to a historic walking tour map on our website. If you'd like to explore the town's history yourself, a historic walking tour map can be found here. For Historic Preservation Month, Castle Rock is also offering a Scavenge the Rock scavenger hunt, trolley ride history tours, and Victoria's Tea. More information here. Castle Rock Population Through the Years:
CBS News
28-01-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Dozens of senior officials at top U.S. aid agency put on leave: reports
Washington — At least 56 senior officials in the top U.S. aid and development agency were placed on leave Monday amid an investigation into an alleged effort to thwart President Trump's orders. A current official and a former official at the U.S. Agency for International Development confirmed the reason given for the move Monday. Both spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. Several hundred contractors based in Washington and elsewhere also were laid off, the officials said. Politico was first to report that the USAID officials were being put on leave. It follows Mr. Trump's executive order last week that directed a sweeping 90-day pause on most U.S. foreign assistance disbursed through the State Department. As a result of the freeze, thousands of U.S.-funded humanitarian, development and security programs worldwide had stopped work or were preparing to. Without funds to pay staff, aid organizations were laying off hundreds of employees. An internal USAID notice sent late Monday and obtained by The Associated Press said new acting administrator Jason Gray had identified "several actions within USAID that appear to be designed to circumvent the President's Executive Orders and the mandate from the American people." "As a result, we have placed a number of USAID employees on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice while we complete our analysis of these actions," Gray wrote. Mr. Trump has signed many executive orders since taking office a week ago, but the notice didn't say which orders the employees were suspected of violating. The senior agency officials put on leave were experienced employees who'd served in multiple administrations, including Mr. Trump's, the former USAID official said. Before those officials were removed from the job Monday, they were scrambling to help U.S.-funded aid organizations cope with the new funding freeze and seek waivers to continue life-saving activities, from getting clean water to war-displaced people in Sudan to continuing to monitor for bird flu globally, the former official said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has specifically exempted only emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt from the freeze on foreign assistance. The Trump administration and GOP lawmakers, many of them skeptical of the need for foreign aid and eager to see other countries pay more, say they will review each foreign assistance program to determine whether it's directly in U.S. interests, and eliminate those deemed wasteful or liberal social engineering.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
More than 50 career civil servants at USAID are placed on administrative leave
More than 50 civil career servants and foreign service officers at the U.S. Agency for International Development were placed on administrative leave Monday afternoon effective immediately, two former USAID officials, a current agency official and a source directly familiar with the decision told NBC News. In addition to striking at senior leadership in bureaus across the agency, the action specifically targeted senior attorneys, according to the two former USAID officials and a current employees were informed of the decision late Monday afternoon. 'We have identified several actions within USAID that appear to be designed to circumvent the President's Executive Orders and the mandate from the American people,' said the email from acting USAID Administrator Jason Gray, which was obtained by NBC News. 'As a result, we have placed a number of USAID employees on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice while we complete our analysis of these actions.' USAID did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening. USAID works to coordinate foreign aid and humanitarian development. Though it is an independent federal agency, it collaborates and receives policy guidance from the secretary of state. Some of the agency's responsibilities include providing humanitarian relief in response to conflicts and natural disasters, as well as promoting global health, environmental sustainability and education. Former USAID official Jeremy Konyndyk said the decision by the Trump administration was a fundamental misread of what career staff exist to do. 'In my experience, they always do work in good faith as intermediaries between the political guidance that they get from the leadership of their building and from the White House, and turn that into development policy,' said Konyndyk who is now president of Refugees International. He added that the sweeping action seemed like an attempt to intimidate and instill fear throughout the building. 'This is a destroying the village in order to save it approach to governing,' he Trump administration froze almost all U.S. foreign assistance last week, in compliance with an executive order by President Donald Trump pending a 90-day review. The order paused new obligations and disbursements of foreign aid pending reviews 'for programmatic efficiency and consistency' with U.S. foreign policy. Trump has made a series of other moves to restructure components of the government. Last week, he made a late-night, legally murky move to fire 18 inspectors general in the federal government, sent home dozens of national security officials from White House jobs, said he was considering shutting down the Federal Emergency Management Agency, revoked 50 security clearances for former intelligence officials and gave the green light to terminate federal employees in diversity, equity and inclusion roles. This article was originally published on
Al Arabiya
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Trump administration targets dozens of senior USAID staff after aid freeze
The Trump administration has put on leave about 60 senior career officials at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), sources familiar with the matter said, after Washington put a sweeping freeze on US aid worldwide. The administration on Saturday urged USAID staff to help transform how Washington allocates aid around the world in line with Trump's 'America First' policy and threatened 'disciplinary action' for any staff ignoring its orders. An internal memo sent to USAID employees on Monday evening said the new leadership identified several actions in the agency that 'appeared to be designed to circumvent the President's Executive Orders and the mandate from the American people.' 'As a result, we have placed a number of USAID employees on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice while we complete our analysis of these actions,' Acting Administrator Jason Gray said in the memo, reviewed by Reuters. The administration's actions threaten billions of dollars of life-saving aid from the world's largest single donor. In fiscal year 2023, the US disbursed $72 billion in assistance. It provided 42 percent of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024. The memo did not spell out how many people were affected by the decision, but five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that it was around 57 to 60 people. Those being put on leave comprised career staff in the leadership positions of almost all USAID bureaus based in Washington, with roles ranging from energy security to water security, children's education and digital technology, two of the sources said. Staff in the agency's general counsel's office were among those targeted. 'People are calling it the Monday afternoon massacre,' said Francisco Bencosme, who was USAID's China policy lead until earlier this month. 'This decision undermines our national security and emboldens our adversaries ... Instead of focusing on China, North Korea, or Russia, the Trump Administration is going after public servants who have served multiple administrations - including the first Trump administration.' USAID did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Since returning to office last week, the administration has reassigned or fired hundreds of workers in several agencies, aiming to fulfill Trump's vow to remake a federal bureaucracy he believes was hostile to him during his 2017-2021 presidency. Hours after taking office, Trump ordered a 90-day pause in foreign aid to review if it was aligned with his foreign policy priorities. On Friday, the State Department issued a stop-work order worldwide even for existing assistance. A second memo on Saturday made it clear to USAID staff that the pause on foreign aid spending meant 'a complete halt'. The only exceptions are for emergency humanitarian food assistance and for officials returning to their duty stations. Further waivers could be issued but will require substantial justification and are subject to a double-layered approval process that includes a final say from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. USAID-funded programs help millions of people around the world fight against HIV/AIDS and provide support for everything from access to clean water, healthcare infrastructure and childrens' health. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for the United States to consider additional exemptions. 'If this is not reversed, it will wreck US foreign aid... It would permanently weaken USAID,' said Jeremy Konyndyk, a former USAID official who is now president of Refugees International.
