Its $40 billion annual budget is a miniscule slice of overall government funding.
Musk bragged on X this past weekend of sending USAID through the wood chipper.
The staffer asked to remain anonymous to speak freely in an atmosphere charged with fear and confusion.
A man in Kenya reads a newspaper reporting on the U.S. aid freeze to African nations.James Wakibia/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images
The chat transcript that follows has been edited for length and clarity.
What is your role with USAID?
We just found out we have all been terminated; for me, in less than 30 days.
What does that mean for your work?
Though we were treated poorly during this, we arent the real casualties of this political war.
All down the drain.
We have abandoned all of it, as of now.
Our NGO partners have laid people off, and aid is no longer getting to those most vulnerable.
Its a horrible feeling to let all that go.
I feel empty and angry, sad, unvalued, confused.
This makes sense to a lot of Americans, I get it.
And to many, USAID is a waste, colonialism, even elitism.
This is an administration that took power on a surge of conservative Christian voters.
How do you square the immediate move to shut down aid to the worlds vulnerable?
As for the Christian virtues, its impossible to describe the contradiction.
They cant go back to Sudan.
They are living in Kampala, Nairobi, and Cairo and all are employed here as third-country nationals.
They are leftovers here.
We had no idea who received what.
The only way we knew who received stop orders was when partners emailed acknowledging the stop order.
We were instructed not to respond to partners at all.
Not even to say thank you.
And we cant even send condolences or take any action other than receive the email.
Im sorry, youre prohibited from communicating with partners who received U.S. taxpayer dollars?
When the stop orders came in, it halted all of their operations.
Where are these orders coming from?
The guy making all of these decisions is in State Peter Marocco.
This shutdown is abrupt.
What has that been like personally?
We are in heartbreaking meetings in the embassy.
No guidance, no direction.
People are shaken local and U.S. staff.
Its [raw] saying goodbye to each other.
What are your logistics looking like to get back to the U.S.?
Its Thursday evening your time now.
I still dont have my flight confirmed.
Im working on it.
Its a scramble right now to get home and comply with the order.
Are you there with a family?
I am here by myself.
I have a supportive wife and two feisty boys at home.
Tell me more about the scramble, as you described it.
We are incurring a lot of expenses, trying to get out using our existing travel authorizations.
There is absolutely no guidance.
USAID is a huge contributor to disaster responses worldwide.
I was so proud to be part of the teams we have in this country.
They are made up of extremely dedicated individuals just impressive people.
It is sad to see it end like this so abrupt and thrown out like garbage to the street.
We feel hurt deeply, and know in our hearts we were doing good.
That is the hardest part to swallow.
