Pirate's Cove

Such a shame, putting people involved in graft, waste, fraud, siphoned aid for idiotic projects on leave and terminating them. Closing USAID and folding any worthwhile projects directly under the State Department. None of the people defending them had any problem with terminating people who didn’t take the COVID “vaccine”

The Trump administration is putting USAID staffers on leave worldwide and firing at least 1,600

The Trump administration moved its fast-paced dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development toward what appeared to be its final phases, telling all but a fraction of staffers worldwide that they were on leave as of Monday and notifying at least 1,600 of the U.S.-based staffers they were being fired.

The move was the latest and one of the biggest steps in what President Donald Trump and cost-cutting ally Elon Musk say is their goal of gutting the six-decade-old aid and development agency in a broader campaign to slash the size of the federal government.

The move comes after a federal judge on Friday allowed the administration to move forward with its plan to pull thousands of USAID staffers off the job in the United States and around the world. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols rejected pleas in a lawsuit from employees to keep temporarily blocking the government’s plan.

“As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally,” according to the notices sent to USAID workers that were viewed by The Associated Press.

Perhaps they should have done a better job. Should have not treated USAID as their personal slush fund for funding their personal beliefs

Lawsuits by government workers’ unions, USAID contractors and others say the administration lacks the constitutional authority to eliminate an independent agency or congressionally funded programs without lawmakers’ approval.

First, it was created by Executive Order, so, Trump can erase it the same way. As for funding, did Congress specifically authorize money for transgender comics in South America? Or, just for USAID? Anything specifically allocated can be disbursed properly by the remaining USAID employees, or, moved to State.

But, hey, this gets fun from the LA Times

Opinion: We may all regret dismantling USAID

American foreign assistance is experiencing an existential moment. The foreign assistance budget appears to be on the chopping block, and the primary agency responsible for delivering foreign assistance, the U.S. Agency for International Development, is undergoing rapid, unplanned disassembly. Some are saying it’s time to give up on foreign assistance altogether, but is it?

As someone who worked on USAID-funded projects around the world for nearly 15 years, I can say that USAID deserves much of the criticism it receives — critiques such as poor performance, misplaced focus and insubordination. Many of its projects run far behind schedule or fail to achieve their intended results. Others appear to be poorly aligned with U.S. foreign policy objectives or simply disconnected from them. Even the more successful programs cost substantially more than one might expect. And U.S.-based contractors and nongovernmental organizations take home a large portion of the assistance, all while working on contracts and grants that minimize their risk and guarantee a profit (where permitted).

So, basically, Ryan Crow just gave enough reasons to close USAID. Probably not the best way to start a defense of the agency.

But our strategic interests, including energy, critical minerals and counterterrorism, among others, span the globe. A few billion dollars wielded effectively in countries around the world can do far more for American interests than some want to believe, especially in the long run. Dismantling the agency may be something we come to regret.

Is giving lots of money to jihad supporting organizations helping American interests? How about transgender puppet theater? And what portion cannot be, again, performed out of State?

• $50 million to fund condoms in Gaza
• $70,000 for the production of a DEI musical in Ireland
• $47,000 on a transgender opera in Colombia
• $6 million in non-emergency funding for redundant administrative supports for the Center of Excellence

Maybe this money should be spent on Americans.

Effectively shuttering USAID will also take important power projection capabilities off the table. As many have already noted, containing disease outbreaks, reducing migration and bolstering political stability are all more difficult without the unique set of skills and expertise built up (often painfully) over decades at USAID. The value of these activities can be difficult to recognize in the short term because they often work far upstream and geographically far away from the consequence they are intended to avert, such as strengthening the justice system in Honduras to reduce migrant flows. But they do have demonstrable value. A safer, healthier, less violent and more prosperous world is in the United States’ interests as much as anyone’s, and foreign aid can help achieve these goals where military force, private interests or markets cannot alone.

All can, and should, be performed within primary agencies. And USAID emboldened illegal immigration. So, bye!