The Congressional Research Service  has  said congressional authorization is required “to abolish, move, or consolidate USAID”

Thousands of US Agency for International Development (USAID) workers who have been fired or placed on leave as part of the Trump administration’s dismantling of the agency are being given a brief window Thursday and Friday to clear out their workspaces.

The USAID placed 5,600 staffers who work across the globe on leave Monday. That was joined by a “reduction in force” that will affect another 1,600 employees, a State Department spokesman said in an emailed response to questions.

USAID has been one of the biggest targets so far of a broad campaign by President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency, a project of Trump advisor Elon Musk, to slash the size of the federal government. The actions at USAID leave only a small fraction of its employees on the job.

Trump and Musk have moved swiftly to shutter the foreign aid agency, calling its programmes out of line with the Republican President’s agenda and asserting without evidence that its work is wasteful. In addition to its scope, their effort is extraordinary because it has not involved Congress, which authorized the agency and has provided its funding.

A report from the Congressional Research Service earlier this month said congressional authorization is required “to abolish, move, or consolidate USAID” , but the Republican majorities in the House and the Senate have made no pushback against the administration’s actions. There’s virtually nothing left to fund, anyway:

The administration now says it is eliminating more than 90% of USAID’s foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in US assistance around the world. A notice on the agency’s website said staff at other locations will have the chance to collect their personal belongings at a later date.

The notice laid out instructions for when specific groups of employees should arrive to be screened by security and escorted to their former workspaces. Those being let go must turn in all USAID-issued assets. Workers on administrative leave were told to retain their USAID-issued materials, including diplomatic passports, “until such time that they are separated from the agency”.