USAID official placed on leave after saying barriers to lifesaving programs will cause ‘preventable death’
An official at the federal foreign aid agency targeted by the Trump administration with layoffs, cuts and funding obstacles was placed on leave Sunday after saying those moves will lead to "preventable death" and threats to U.S. security.
An official at the federal foreign aid agency targeted by the Trump administration with layoffs, cuts and funding obstacles was placed on leave Sunday after saying those moves will lead to "preventable death" and threats to U.S. security.
In a memo to staff, including those placed on leave or laid off, Nick Enrich said the U.S. Agency for International Development has not implemented "lifesaving humanitarian assistance" under a temporary waiver to the pause on foreign aid issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“This will no doubt result in preventable death, destabilization, and threats to national security on a massive scale,” Enrich wrote in the memo obtained by NBC News.
Rubio has vowed to establish waivers for vital USAID programs that will be exempted from the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts and stop-work orders, but Enrich alleged that significant damage is being done in the present — without intervention.
Enrich, who sent the memo Friday in his capacity as acting assistant administrator for USAID Global Health, placed the blame on "political leadership at USAID, the Department of State, and DOGE, who have created and continue to create intentional and/or unintentional obstacles that have wholly prevented implementation."
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