As President Donald Trump's administration continues its restructuring of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), former federal workers are being instructed to swiftly collect their personal belongings. The announcement follows recent directives that have significantly impacted the agency’s workforce.
USAID leadership communicated via email to agency staffers on Tuesday, informing them they would have a mere 15 minutes to enter their former offices at the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington, D.C., to retrieve personal items. The retrieval opportunity is limited to Thursday and Friday, February 27 and 28, 2025.
The message, which was also posted on USAID's government website, stated that the staff would have approximately 15 minutes to complete the retrieval process and are required to finish within their designated time slot.
The email included a detailed timetable providing staff with a specific window to collect their belongings based on their bureau or independent office. For some, the timeframe extends up to an hour and a half, while others have only half an hour.
Additionally, the email outlined a comprehensive list of prohibited items that USAID staff are not allowed to bring onto the premises. This list includes BB guns, drills, knives, sabers, swords, nunchucks, ski poles, chlorine, and liquid bleach.
The message clarified that these items have always been banned from entering the Ronald Reagan Building facility through a security screening post, typically used by uncredentialled visitors who face additional rules. Several USAID officials expressed concerns to ABC News, indicating that the inclusion of such a list portrays agency employees as potential threats rather than professionals dedicated to foreign assistance.
An official commented, "It sounds like they think we're going to try to stage a Jan. 6-style 'peaceful protest'."
This directive comes amid significant changes within USAID, as 1,600 workers in the humanitarian aid bureau received termination notices over the weekend, and thousands more abroad were placed on administrative leave. Prior to Trump's second administration, USAID employed more than 10,000 individuals.
