The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has asked its staff to destroy documents, many of which contain sensitive information, according to a Politico report.
A senior official from the agency responsible for foreign aid and development assistance across the globe has asked the staff to be present at its former headquarters in Washington on Tuesday for this “all day” group effort.
Documents to be destroyed
The documents listed to be destroyed include USAID’s “classified safes and personnel documents” at the Ronald Reagan Building, the report said citing an email sent by USAID’s acting executive director, Erica Carr.
Instructions for destruction
“Shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break,” Carr wrote.
Carr has even asked employees to label the burn bags using words such as “SECRET” and “USAID/B/IO/” (agency shorthand for “bureau or independent office”) in dark Sharpie.
Reason for destruction
Carr did not clarify the reason for destroying the documents. The former headquarters are being vacated after mass layoffs, which may have impacted the scheduled document destruction timetables.
Impact of the Trump administration?
The latest move to destroy documents reflects Trump’s efforts to dismantle USAID, an agency that once had an annual budget of $ 40 billion and more than 10,000 employees across the globe, the report stated.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had previously sought access to secure computer systems at USAID, which the agency resisted. The administration then placed two of the agency’s security staff on administrative leave, the report said. However, a DOGE spokesperson clarified that no illegitimate means were used to access classified material.
A former USAID employee has confirmed the email and told Politico, “I’ve never seen something like this — en masse. Everyone with a safe is supposed to keep it up to date and destroy documents when they no longer need to be stored. Sometimes security will check your safe and tell you if you have to clean out old material.”
Both Donald Trump and Elon Musk have focused on USAID towards their efforts to create a smaller federal workforce. Most of the employees of the agency have been laid off or put on administrative leave. Previously, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that more than 80 per cent of USAID’s programs had been cancelled, and the rest had been administered by the US State Department.
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