USAID Workers Call for End of Furlough—'Devastating for My Family'

More than 15,000 people have signed a petition calling for a reversal of the Trump administration's stop-work order for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), with some sharing how furloughs and layoffs have upended their lives.

Why It Matters

President Donald Trump ordered an unprecedented 90-day freeze of foreign assistance on his first day back in office on January 20. Since then, U.S and international companies have been forced to shut down programs, prompting furloughs and layoffs of employees and contractors.

USAID workers were locked out of their headquarters in Washington on Monday as billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, empowered by the Trump administration, moves to shutter the agency responsible for billions of dollars of humanitarian, development and security assistance around the world.

What To Know

The Change petition says the "sudden and unprecedented USAID Stop Work Order has blindsided hundreds of hardworking Americans, stripping them of their jobs without warning—leaving families without income and communities without support.

"This decision doesn't just impact those overseas; it weakens our nation's global standing, disrupts critical aid efforts, and threatens our own economic and national security."

The petition demands "an immediate solution that protects American jobs, upholds our global leadership, and ensures aid programs continue benefiting both recipients and the United States." It added: "Stand with us—because when aid stops, everyone suffers."

The petition, which was launched on Friday, had amassed more than 16,000 signatures by early Tuesday. Newsweek has contacted the petition organizer for comment via email.

Supporters of the petition revealed how Trump's order has affected their lives, and argued that USAID's work saves lives around the world and that shuttering it would be against the interests of the U.S.

One person, identified only as Meredith, said in a video that the impact of the freeze has been "really devastating" for her family.

"I'm the sole income earner and I'm the mom of four young kids," she said. "My husband has been the stay-at-home parent because I work for a nonprofit and fetch less than I would in the private sector. We haven't ever been able to afford child care, and so now he has limited income earning potential and this is threatening our livelihoods."

Another supporter, Ashley, wrote: "I work in international development and many of my colleagues in the US have now lost their jobs. The ripple effects of this for the American people and the global community are unimaginable. We as a country have always been a leader globally in humanitarian work and that great history will end."

Another supporter, identified only as Kate, said: "Dissolving USAID is not going to make America safer or stronger. Quite the contrary. For less than 1 percent of our GDP, the 50-year-old agency helps people around the world, over a billion people, with health care, education, agriculture, small businesses and other things. Making enemies out of over 100 countries and laying off 10,000 hard-working Americans isn't gonna help."

What People Are Saying

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been appointed the acting administrator of USAID, told reporters in El Salvador on Monday: USAID was a "completely uncooperative" agency that needed to be aligned with U.S. foreign policy. "That sort of level of insubordination makes it impossible to conduct the sort of mature and serious review that I think foreign aid writ large, should have."

President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday: Shutting down USAID "should have been done a long time ago" and that he does not believe he needs Congress to approve the measure.

Billionaire and DOGE co-head Elon Musk said during an X Spaces stream early Monday: "As we dug into USAID, it became apparent that what we have here is not an apple with a worm it in but that we have actually just a ball of worms. USAID is a ball of worms, there is no apple. And when there is no apple...you've just got to basically get rid of the whole thing. That is why it's got to go. It's beyond repair."

Matt Freeman, executive director of the nonprofit Stronger Foundations for Nutrition, said in a statement to Newsweek: "For decades, USAID has been the world's largest humanitarian and development aid organization. And for decades the world has made tremendous progress toward ending poverty, hunger, child mortality and more.

"This is not the moment to change course—the progress we all enjoy sits on a knife's edge as our world grows ever more complex. As a global community we need this generosity more than ever before. We can all win—prosperity is not a zero sum game."

Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat on the Committee on Foreign Relations who was among lawmakers who protested outside USAID headquarters on Monday: "Every single day, America is safer because of what happens at USAID.

"Elon Musk makes billions of dollars based off of his business with China, and China is cheering at this action today. There is no question that the billionaire class trying to take over our government right now is doing it based on self-interest—their belief that if they can make us weaker in the world, if they can elevate their business partners all around the world, that they will gain the benefit."

Murphy and other Democratic senators on the committee wrote in a letter to Rubio on Sunday: "Congress established the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as an independent agency, separate from the Department of State, to ensure that we can deploy development expertise and U.S. foreign assistance quickly, particularly in times of crisis, to meet our national security goals. For this reason, any effort to merge or fold USAID into the Department of State should be, and by law must be, previewed, discussed, and approved by Congress.

"Congress has also made clear that any attempt to reorganize or redesign USAID requires advance consultation with, and notification to, Congress."

What Happens Next

In a statement, the State Department said Rubio had notified Congress of a review of USAID's foreign assistance activities, with "an eye towards potential reorganization." The changes at USAID are expected to prompt court challenges.

Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat who is on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said on Monday said he would block Senate votes on Trump's nominees for the State Department until efforts to shut down USAID are reversed.

"Until and unless this brazenly authoritarian action is reversed and USAID is functional again, I will be placing a blanket hold on all of the Trump administration's State Department nominees," he said in a statement. "This is self-inflicted chaos of epic proportions that will have dangerous consequences all around the world."