Donald Trump urged US Agency for International Development (USAid) workers to join the effort to transform how the federal government allocates aid around the world in line with his America first policy. His administration threatened “disciplinary action” for any staff ignoring the its orders, issued days into Trump’s second presidency.
A sharply-worded memo sent Saturday to more than 10,000 staff at USAid offered further guidance to Friday’s “stop-work” directive that effectively put a sweeping freeze on US foreign aid worldwide. The memo, reviewed by Reuters, laid out expectations for the workforce on how to achieve Trump’s goals.
“We have a responsibility to support the President in achieving his vision,” Ken Jackson, assistant to the administrator for management and resources, wrote in the internal memo, titled “Message and Expectation to the Workforce”.
“The president has given us a tremendous opportunity to transform the way we approach foreign assistance for decades to come,” the memo said.
Reuters confirmed the authenticity of the memo with several sources.
Since retaking office on 20 January, Trump has taken steps toward fulfilling his vow to remake a federal bureaucracy he believes was hostile to him during his first presidency from 2017 to 2021. He has reassigned or fired hundreds of federal workers in simultaneous moves against a swath of agencies.
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