In what has been a tumultuous few days for the U.S. Agency for International Development, employees working oversees are now worried they may soon be evacuated out of countries they're stationed as the Trump administration weighs cuts to the agency.
USAID is at the forefront of global development and humanitarian assistance, working in over 100 countries to promote economic growth, health, education and democratic governance.
Scripps News just spoke with Randy Chester, vice president for USAID at American Foreign Service Association, and he described the panic and chaos that he is hearing from hundreds of USAID employees. Today a “few hundred more people” within the agency were cut off from agency servers, Chester said, in line with similar actions that had taken place Monday as well.
“I think people are going through the five stages of grief, really, really fast,” he said in a phone call Tuesday evening, describing phone and video calls with people who were in tears. “To be treated in a manner that is not transparent is really affecting people's psyche and their emotions.”
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Right now, Chester is fielding calls and questions from USAID employees who are posted abroad, who are concerned they are going to be evacuated out of countries. Though he hasn’t heard this officially, he says the move would be unprecedented.
“It's never happened before, and just the cost will be astronomical to move,” he said.
There are an estimated 1,500 USAID employees and their families currently stationed abroad. In a normal year, the agency transfers around 500 to 600 of them. So moving almost 3 times as many people would be a “logistical nightmare," Chester said.
A separate source told Scripps News on Tuesday that USAID employees stationed abroad have been trying to figure out more information after an urgent message was sent out to all missions asking them to report the number of Americans in the different hiring mechanisms: number of foreign service officers, contractors, and the total number of people in a household. The source said this number generally matters for moving and housing assignments.
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Chester thinks the national security ramifications for a diminished or eliminated USAID would benefit China and other adversaries.
“[USAID] is our way of countering the economic growth and the economic dependence that China is creating in large parts of the world, particularly Africa,” he said. “Losing USAID loses a big tool in the arsenal for any president and you know, a President's foreign policy is necessary and needed, and we implement that policy.”
Chester also responded to Secretary Rubio’s comments and criticisms of the agency in recent days, including that the agency is unaccountable and not carrying out American policy objectives.
He explained how USAID fits into the larger integrated country strategy that each U.S. embassy has, reiterating that USAID implements the policy of the president — regardless of party or affiliation — and pointed to his own service under five U.S. presidents. He also rejected the notion that USAID is not providing information about their spending.
“We're a public institution," Chester explained. "The money we spend is the U.S. people's money. It's taxpayer’s money. So of course, we're going to show and share whatever is asked for."
