The director of employee and labor relations at the US Agency for International Development has been placed on administrative leave after a stunning refusal to follow directions given by President Trump's transition team.

Tuesday, acting USAID Administrator Jason Gray ordered nearly 60 senior bureaucrats placed on indefinite administrative leave for taking actions to evade Trump's executive orders; see Trump Suspends As Many As 60 Senior Bureaucrats for Trying to Evade His Executive Orders – RedState. In a memo, Gray said, "We have identified several actions within USAID that appear to be designed to circumvent the president’s executive orders and the mandate from the American people.“ As a result, we have placed a number of USAID employees on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice while we complete our analysis of these actions.”

That was not the end of the drama at USAID. On Thursday, another wave of downsizing swept the agency.

Hundreds of contractors working for the US Agency for International Development are being put on unpaid leave and some are being terminated after US President Donald Trump imposed a sweeping freeze on US foreign aid worldwide.

The furloughs come even as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued overnight an additional waiver for "life-saving humanitarian assistance" while Washington undertakes the 90-day review Trump initiated just hours after he came into office on 20 January.

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A USAID official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said "stop-work" orders issued on Monday for institutional support contracts resulted in 600 people being sent home and furloughed in the agency's Global Health bureau.

Public Health Institute, an institutional support contractor for USAID's Global Health bureau, sent an email to its employees late on Tuesday saying their employment has been terminated as a result of a stop-work order.

Enter Director of Employee and Labor Relations Nick Gottlieb, stage left. He countermanded the order placing senior staff on administrative leave.

Cancellation of Your Administrative Leave Status Under My Authority

Thu, Jan 30, 2025 at 2.04 PM

[REDACTED]

All:

Attached, please find a memorandum documenting the cancellation of your administrative leave status under my authority. Before you get your hopes up, your system accesses remain severed; you may receive another email within the day reinstating your leave status. However, that notice will not come from me.

I have reviewed the materials that served as the purported basis for your placement in this status. Most of you had no role whatsoever in these materials. For the small number of you actually involved, the materials show no evidence that you engaged in misconduct.

As a result, I no longer have authority to maintain you in this status. Someone else may claim to have that authority and I wish them the best in making a colorable argument to that end. I may not maintain my own accesses for much longer, so if you would like to stay in touch, I can be reached at  [REDACTED].

I wish you all the best — you do not deserve this.

Sincerely,

Two hours and fifteen minutes later, he sent another email. He refused an order to terminate contract employees.

Remarkable email I was forwarded from inside USAID, appears to show the head of their Employee and Labor Relations division claiming to have been put on administrative leave for refusing to carry out illegal firings ordered by DOGE and political appointees pic.twitter.com/yd0sDna256

— dylan matthews 🔸 (@dylanmatt) January 30, 2025

Farewell and Thanks (Again) — Illegal Activity in the USAID Front Office

All:

Today, representatives of the Agency's front office and DOGE instructed me to violate the due process of our employees by issuing immediate termination notices to a group of employees without due process. I refused and have provided Acting Administrator Gray with written notification of my refusal. I have recommended in that written notification that his office cease and desist from further illegal activity.

It is and has always been my office's commitment to the workforce that we ensure all employees receive their due process in any of our actions. I will not be a party to a violation of that commitment.

I was notified moments ago that I will be placed on administrative leave, effective immediately. It has been a honor working with all of you at this agency, which I treasure.

Please be kind and considerate of my staff at [email protected] who will be very short-staffed and pressed over the coming months. Until you hear otherwise, Kristen Gunsolus will be acting in my absence.

If you would like to stay in touch, I can be reached at [REDACTED] I wish you the best.

Unlike Trump 1.0, when bureaucrats frequently ignored the administration and stymied its agenda, this time around, the lesson has been learned. Resistance is being met with immediate action. Gottlieb may very well hit the leftist podcast circuit, dining out on his reputation as a "martyr" and "truth teller," but the lesson will not be lost on other people who aren't anxious to follow that path.