Washington [US], February 25: The US government recently announced that starting February 24, most of the global staff of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will be placed on leave. Exceptions include those responsible for important tasks, key leaders and staff for specially designated programs, according to The Hill .
In some states, Republicans are starting to feel the heat from the federal government's decisions. In particular, at meetings and meetings with voters in some states last week, Republican congressmen faced a wave of anger from people who opposed the massive personnel cuts that Mr. Trump and the Committee on American Government Efficiency (DOGE) are implementing. In Texas , Republican congressman Pete Sessions received many harsh questions during a meeting with voters on February 22.
In addition, USAID also plans to lay off 1,600 employees. The move is a sign that the Trump administration will continue to pursue a policy of large-scale personnel cuts. Not only USAID, tens of thousands of officials in many departments of US federal agencies have been and are at risk of being fired. The US government also sent emails to federal employees, asking them to list their recent work, which billionaire Elon Musk said "not responding is equivalent to a resignation letter". Some agencies responded on February 23 by notifying employees not to respond to the above email.
According to The New York Times , one voter questioned that the executive branch can only enforce laws passed by Congress, not the lawmaking body that has recently enacted the layoffs. Others were upset that congressional Republicans have not taken decisive action to control the government's layoffs.
Congressman Rich McCormick of Atlanta experienced a similar situation when he faced a heated questioning session from voters during a meeting last week. Voters said DOGE staff did not understand the specifics of each agency's work, but had the power to fire a large number of personnel in many important departments, such as employees of the agency protecting the nuclear arsenal, or health officials trying to respond to the bird flu outbreak. The responses from officials did not seem to satisfy the voters ' dissatisfaction.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
