How Donald Trump Gutted America's $40 Billion Aid Agency in Two Weeks

The cuts came so fast that one dismissed employee had to be rehired to process other employees' time sheets.

- Joel Schectman, Kristina Peterson, Laura Kusisto & Alexander Ward

Photos of projects that the U.S. Agency for International Development had funded around the world—girls playing soccer in South America, families getting food in eastern Africa—were gone, and in their place were strips of nails and empty picture frames against white walls.

Over the course of less than two weeks, the Trump administration largely dismantled the work of a 10,000-person, $40 billion foreign-assistance agency and the thousands of people in nonprofits and other groups that work with it.

By Monday, Trump administration had closed USAID's main building and pulled down its website. USAID's Washington facilities were closed, as the agency prepared to put nearly all of its remaining 1,400 staff on administrative leave, two officials said. The big announcement came later that night: Nearly all USAID staff would be put on paid administrative leave starting Saturday morning, with aides working around the world ordered to come home within 30 days, barring special circumstances.

The missive was placed on USAID's website, which for days had been offline. "Thank you for your service," the message ended.

USAID appears to be a test case for whether the Trump administration can effectively restructure a decades-old agency without meeting much legal or political resistance. So far, the answer seems to be yes.

Some outside groups say they can't get paid for work they have already done. The few officials who remain are forwarding past-due invoices, trying to walk a line between potentially violating a directive from President Trump and violating federal contracting rules.

Stefanie Leigh Plant, a 40-year old contractor for USAID's global health program, was fired via email, with her health insurance severed three days later. "That's when the incredulity began setting in," she said.