The USAID Foreign Service, the corps of career officers who ran U.S. development programs in more than 160 countries, was effectively dismantled in 2025. Officers were recalled from posts abroad, placed on administrative leave, and terminated in waves through reductions in force; USAID ceased operating as an independent agency on July 1, 2025, and its surviving programs and a few hundred remaining staff were absorbed by the State Department.1NPR. USAID Officially Shuts Down and Merges Remaining Operations With State Department Litigation challenging the shutdown and the firings is still moving through the federal courts.
What the USAID Foreign Service Was
USAID was created by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 under the Foreign Assistance Act, and Congress formalized its status as an independent establishment operating under the policy guidance of the Secretary of State in 1998.2Council on Foreign Relations. What Is USAID and Why Is It at Risk The Foreign Service Act of 1980 gave the USAID Administrator authority to use the Foreign Service personnel system, subject to the Act’s rules on pay, promotion, labor relations, and grievances.3U.S. Government Publishing Office. Foreign Service Act of 1980
Officers held rank in the person rather than the position, on a scale that ran from FS-09 at entry through FS-01, with the Senior Foreign Service above.4U.S. Department of State. 3 FAM 2650 — Foreign Service Position Classification Unlike State Department candidates, USAID Foreign Service applicants did not take the Foreign Service Officer Test; they applied online based on professional qualifications and had to hold a master’s degree.5Devex. How to Ace Your USAID Foreign Service Application
Before the cuts, USAID employed more than 5,000 U.S. direct-hire staff, about 5,000 Foreign Service Nationals overseas, and roughly 3,000 institutional support contractors. The American Foreign Service Association represented approximately 1,800 of the agency’s Foreign Service officers.6NBC News. USAID to Reduce Foreign Service Officers In fiscal year 2023, USAID disbursed about $44 billion in foreign assistance, roughly 61 percent of the U.S. total.2Council on Foreign Relations. What Is USAID and Why Is It at Risk
How the Shutdown Unfolded in 2025
On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,” which imposed a 90-day pause on new foreign-aid obligations and disbursements and directed a program-by-program review.7The White House. Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid The State Department and USAID then froze all foreign-aid funding, and thousands of aid contracts were canceled.
By February 5, 2025, the administration had recalled all USAID Foreign Service personnel from overseas posts and closed USAID offices worldwide.8American Foreign Service Association. AFSA Press Releases Roughly 2,200 employees were placed on administrative leave.9The New York Times. Judge Will Freeze Elements of Trump Plan to Shut Down USAID Officers stationed abroad were given a 30-day window to return, with all officers and their families ordered back by August 15, 2025, the same date set for the termination of locally employed staff at overseas missions.10Devex. USAID Foreign Officers to Be Repatriated, Local Staff Fired by Aug. 15
On March 28, 2025, the administration notified the remaining 900 USAID employees by email that their positions were being eliminated through reductions in force, effective either July 1 or September 2, 2025.11NPR. USAID Terminates Nearly All Its Remaining Employees The post-cut agency was projected to shrink from more than 5,000 employees to roughly 290, with 12 people covering Africa, 8 covering Asia, and 10 covering Europe, a continent that had previously employed about 600 USAID staff.6NBC News. USAID to Reduce Foreign Service Officers
USAID formally ceased operations as an independent agency on July 1, 2025. More than 80 percent of its previous programs had been terminated, and a few hundred remaining employees moved to work under the State Department.1NPR. USAID Officially Shuts Down and Merges Remaining Operations With State Department The fiscal year 2026 budget listed USAID’s budget as zero dollars, shifting operational funding into State Department accounts. The State Department requested targeted staffing increases to absorb the transferred programming, took over the ForeignAssistance.gov website, and began integrating USAID’s monitoring and evaluation systems.12U.S. Department of State. FY 2026 Congressional Budget Justification The government reserved more than $19.1 billion for closeout costs, and as of May 2026 planned to divert roughly $2 billion in global health funding and $1.2 billion in foreign development assistance to cover shutdown expenses.13CNN. Trump Administration USAID Global Health Funding
Where the Litigation Stands
The speed of the shutdown drew multiple court challenges, several turning on the fate of USAID employees.
On February 7, 2025, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington issued a restraining order blocking the plan to place 2,200 employees on administrative leave and recall overseas personnel, temporarily reinstating about 500 employees who had already been placed on leave.9The New York Times. Judge Will Freeze Elements of Trump Plan to Shut Down USAID On March 18, 2025, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland issued a preliminary injunction finding that actions by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency to shut down USAID likely violated the Constitution. Chuang held that Musk, who was “neither appointed nor confirmed by the Senate,” lacked authority to dismantle a congressionally created agency, and he barred DOGE from further staff or contract cuts without authorization from an official with the legal authority to approve them.14American Federation of Government Employees. Judge Rules DOGE’s Dismantling of USAID Unconstitutional
On August 19, 2025, Judge Chuang certified a class action on behalf of all USAID employees and personal service contractors who were employed or under contract as of January 27, 2025. Chuang rejected the government’s argument that the claims belonged before the Merit Systems Protection Board, reasoning that because the case concerned the abolition of the entire agency rather than individual employment actions, the MSPB could not provide meaningful relief; terminated workers would have “no workplace to which to return.” A federal appeals court then placed enforcement of Chuang’s injunction on hold while the litigation continued.15Government Executive. Judge Certifies Class Lawsuit on Behalf of Ex-USAID Workers, Contractors
In January 2026, Chuang denied the government’s bid to certify four legal questions for interlocutory appeal and refused to stay discovery. In February 2026, the court denied a protective order that would have blocked depositions of President Trump, Secretary Rubio, Elon Musk, and other senior officials, finding “extraordinary circumstances” justified the depositions. As of early 2026, the appeal of the preliminary injunction remained in abeyance before the Fourth Circuit, with the court ordering 30-day status updates.16Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse. Case 46119
The funding side of the fight moved separately. Nonprofits and contractors challenged the withholding of nearly $4 billion in foreign-aid funding before U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, who ruled the freeze likely violated federal law and the Constitution. In February 2025, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to leave an earlier Ali order in place, and the government paid nearly $2 billion for work already performed.17SCOTUSblog. Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration to Withhold Billions in Foreign Aid Funding But on September 26, 2025, the Court granted the administration’s emergency request to freeze $4 billion before the fiscal year-end deadline, concluding the government had made a “sufficient showing that the Impoundment Control Act precludes respondents’ suit.” Justice Elena Kagan dissented, calling it a “presidential usurpation of Congress’s power of the purse.”18Courthouse News Service. Supreme Court Sides With Trump in Foreign Aid Funding Debacle
What AFSA and the Unions Have Done
The American Foreign Service Association, the exclusive representative of the U.S. Foreign Service at both the State Department and USAID, has been central to the legal response. On February 6, 2025, AFSA and the American Federation of Government Employees filed a joint lawsuit challenging the “illegal dismantling” of USAID. A district court ruled in July 2025 that it lacked jurisdiction; the unions appealed to the D.C. Circuit, with a hearing scheduled for April 23, 2026.19American Federation of Government Employees. Fired Feds Still Dedicated to Foreign Aid Mission Despite USAID Dismantling
In December 2025, AFSA and AFGE filed an emergency request to block the State Department from terminating more than 250 Foreign Service and civil service employees, arguing the firings violated a provision in a continuing resolution signed into law on November 12, 2025, that prohibited RIF actions through January 30, 2026.20Democracy Forward. State Department Violating Law in Attempt to Fire Foreign Service Officers and Staff AFSA’s Legal Defense Fund paid out more than $500,000 in 2025 and filed numerous unfair labor practice charges over unilateral changes to RIF regulations and the termination of the collective bargaining agreement.21American Foreign Service Association. AFSA Legal Defense Fund
The Congressional Response
On February 11, 2025, Representative Sara Jacobs of California introduced the Protect U.S. National Security Act, which would prohibit the use of federal funds to eliminate USAID as an independent agency. Jacobs argued that because the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 codified USAID’s independent status, its elimination requires an act of Congress.22Office of Representative Sara Jacobs. Rep. Sara Jacobs Introduces Legislation to Protect USAID The bill drew 15 Democratic cosponsors but, as of mid-2026, had not advanced. AFSA has also flagged pending House legislation that could make the dismantling of USAID permanent.8American Foreign Service Association. AFSA Press Releases
What Survived: The Office of Inspector General
The USAID Office of Inspector General has continued to operate through the transition, keeping statutory oversight over U.S.-funded foreign assistance. The OIG maintains headquarters in Washington and regional offices in locations including San Salvador, Pretoria, Bangkok, Tel Aviv, and Kyiv, and it continues to recruit Foreign Service Special Agents and auditors.23USAID Office of Inspector General. USAID OIG Careers Special Agents train at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, receive law enforcement availability pay, and face mandatory retirement at age 57 after 20 years of service.24USAID Office of Inspector General. Become a Special Agent
The OIG has also formed a cross-divisional team to monitor the transfer of USAID assets, personnel, IT systems, and financial accounts to the State Department, and has flagged concerns about records preservation, waste from canceled contracts, and the accuracy of severance payments to departing staff.25USAID Office of Inspector General. USAID OIG FY 2026 Oversight Plan A separate OIG evaluation is examining whether the global termination of locally employed staff complied with government regulations and local compensation plans.26USAID Office of Inspector General. Evaluation of USAID Global Employment Terminations of Locally Employed Staff