U.S. President Donald Trump recently halted aid provided to global nations through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This includes suspending ₹182 crore (21 million USD) allocated to India for increasing voter participation. In a new shocking decision, Trump has now laid off 2,000 USAID employees.

Except for a few exemptions, most employees have been placed on forced leave. A notice regarding this was published on the USAID website. Trump's administration moved forward with these layoffs after receiving approval from a federal judge. The affected employees had appealed to the U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols to stop the layoffs, but the request was denied.

After assuming office for the second term, Trump has taken steps to cut unnecessary government spending. He established the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and assigned its responsibilities to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Under Musk's leadership, cost-cutting measures have been implemented, resulting in mass layoffs at USAID. Reports suggest Trump plans to reduce USAID’s workforce from 10,000 to just 294 employees, significantly downsizing its operations worldwide.