gotchanewsdaily.com 
CNN
—
The Trump administration’s freeze of foreign aid and dismantling of the agency that oversees it is putting at risk thousands of jobs in the US and abroad, industry sources told CNN.
The fallout is already being felt at kitchen tables around the country with hundreds, if not thousands, of aid workers dealing with the reality that they could be out of work because of the aid freeze and potential downsizing of the workforce at USAID, which has been de-facto subsumed by the State Department.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlined the freeze on almost all foreign assistance, which included immediate stop-work orders on existing work, in a directive less than two weeks ago. It has brought work around the world to a halt and also stopped disbursements of money to aid organizations and contractors. The move has already had immense repercussions, sources told CNN.
“People are losing their jobs, left and right,” a humanitarian official said. “There’s going to be a ripple effect.”
Federal contractors that are members of one Washington, DC-area trade association have racked up about $350 million in unpaid bills, forcing them to furlough some 2,000 staff in the area, a source familiar with the trade association told CNN.
“You’re talking about thousands of people here and abroad, American companies that what they do is implement USAID programs,” said Dany Bahar, senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, a think tank. “A lot of the money from USAID is helping [foreign] countries grow and develop stronger commercial ties with the US.”
One aid contractor told CNN that the funding freeze will impact food security in the US. “I don’t think people recognize that. It’s going to impact the spread of infectious disease,” they said.
There are “so many small businesses and a lot of corporate partners that rely on these types of programs to help the strength of supply chains,” said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation.
DAI, one of the largest foreign aid contractors, has furloughed about 380 US-based staff, 60 or 70% of its total US staff, DAI spokesperson Steven O’Connor told CNN. Chemonics, another contractor that employs thousands of people worldwide, has not been paid for any contracts since President Donald Trump’s inauguration last month, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. The company has furloughed hundreds of people in the US, or nearly 70% of its US-based staff, the source said.
“Chemonics is an employee-owned, American company working every day to help safeguard American security, promote economic prosperity, and address global challenges before they reach American shores,” a Chemonics spokesperson told CNN. The USAID stop-work order has forced the company to furlough more than 600 staff and to cut hours for an additional 300 staff who live in 41 US states and Washington, DC, the spokesperson said.
Established by law in 1961, USAID distributes billions of dollars worldwide annually to help alleviate poverty, treat diseases and respond to famines and natural disasters. It also promotes democracy building and development by supporting non-government organizations, independent media and social initiatives.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk has led the Trump administration’s effort to weaken USAID, falsely calling it a “viper’s nest of radical-left marxists who hate America.”
In reality, USAID comprises thousands of Americans across the globe who dedicate their careers to government service.
“Maybe people don’t realize that what happens abroad hits us here. It is not in our interest to have a resurgence of HIV in Africa,” another source in the developments sector told CNN. “It’s not in our interest to have, you know, malaria, spiral out of control, and have any of that come up to the southern United States.”
Musk’s targeting of USAID led to a dramatic standoff over the weekend when two top security officials at USAID were put on administrative leave for refusing to grant Musk associates access to USAID systems, CNN previously reported. The Musk associates wanted access to classified information, two sources with knowledge of the matter told CNN.
The tussle over the agency’s future continued Monday, when most USAID employees in Washington, DC, were told to stay home and Democratic lawmakers held a press conference denouncing the situation in front of USAID headquarters. Rubio announced that he is acting administrator of USAID, confirming the de-facto takeover of the agency by the State Department.
Beyond the chaos unfolding in Washington, USAID employees in the US and overseas said the funding freeze will have lasting consequences for US national security.
“Dismantling and pausing foreign assistance will make America more vulnerable to possible terror attacks since much of what USAID does is to target the root causes of extremism worldwide,” a USAID employee working in Africa told CNN. “This also leaves the door wide open for China to continue to exert their influence in Africa, jeopardizing American business interests and values.”
Many months of USAID contracting work to build up democratic institutions abroad and reduce corruption and human trafficking are now in jeopardy.
“Our word is trash,” one USAID contractor said, summing up the mood many workers have of leaving poor countries stranded on projects.
John Oldfield, the chief executive of Accelerate Global, which advises nonprofits and companies working in global development, said that funding can run out very quickly for contractors.
“Yes, people are losing their jobs — that’s whether you’re a billion-dollar USAID contractor, or, you know, a $10,000-a-year subcontractor in rural East Africa,” Oldfield told CNN. “These organizations solve today’s problems with today’s money. That’s their job. So they don’t have these massive rainy-day funds.”
