New reports said the Trump administration is gutting the U.S. Agency for International Development.
A report from Reuters based on sources it did not name said that when the cutting is done, 294 people will work for an agency that has had about 10,000 employees. If accurate, that would be a 97 percent reduction.
According to The New York Times, a screenshot of an email from Joel Borkert, the acting USAID chief of staff, said the current plans is to have 12 people working on projects in Africa, eight covering Latin America and the Caribbean, 21 focused on Middle East projects, and eight devoted to Asia.
The Times reported, the plan is to retain 78 people in the bureau of humanitarian affairs and 77 in the bureau of global health.
“That’s outrageous,” J. Brian Atwood, a former USAID leader, told Reuters.
The State Department did not comment on the Times or Reuters reports.
USAID has been scrutinized by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
On Tuesday, the Trump administration said directly hired USAID workers will be put on leave and all foreign personnel were being recalled.
The Times report, which also quoted sources