According to reports in several major news outlets on Tuesday, a senior US Agency for International Development (USAID) official directed the agency’s remaining staff to gather for an all-day document destruction effort. The materials slated for disposal include sensitive information, such as contents from the agency’s classified safes and personnel records at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.
USAID has dismissed thousands of employees, placed some on paid leave, and instructed a few to work remotely, leaving its headquarters largely empty for weeks.
This directive was outlined in an email from USAID’s acting executive director, Erica Carr, who wrote “Thank you for your assistance in clearing our classified safes and personnel documents,” and continued: “Shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break.”
The email did not offer any explanation for the document destruction.
USAID AND THE ‘PALESTINIANS’
USAID halted its assistance to Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip on January 31, 2019, reportedly at the request of the Palestinian Authority. This request was in response to the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act of 2018, which exposed foreign aid recipients to anti-terrorism lawsuits. Under President Biden, USAID resumed assistance to “Palestinians” in April 2021, increasing aid after the Hamas October 7, 2023 massacre. Since then, USAID has provided over $2.1 billion in assistance to “Palestinians.”
On November 10, 2023, more than 1,000 USAID officials signed an open letter urging the Biden administration to call for an immediate ceasefire in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. The letter reflected growing resistance within the US government to President Joe Biden’s steadfast support for Israel in its response to the October 7 Hamas atrocities.
COURT HEARING WEDNESDAY
A union representing USAID contractors urged a federal judge on Tuesday to intervene and halt the destruction of classified documents. US District Judge Carl Nichols set a Wednesday morning deadline for both the plaintiffs and the government to submit briefings on the matter.
In a February 2025 ruling blocking the Trump administration from placing certain USAID employees on leave, Judge Carl Nichols noted that, despite Trump’s allegations of massive “corruption and fraud” within the agency, government lawyers failed to provide any supporting evidence in court.
A source familiar with the email confirmed to the Associated Press that it was sent to at least some essential personnel.
According to the AP, the classified documents include intelligence reports.
The Federal Records Act of 1950 mandates that US government officials seek approval from the National Archives and Records Administration before destroying documents. However, it remains unclear whether Erica Carr or any other USAID official obtained the necessary authorization before proceeding with the document destruction.
The issue of classified documents at USAID first surfaced last month when the Trump administration placed the agency’s top two security officials on leave for refusing to grant Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to sensitive materials.
Established in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy to consolidate various foreign assistance programs under one agency, USAID is an independent U.S. government agency responsible for overseeing civilian foreign aid and development efforts.
The Trump administration accused USAID of “wasting massive sums of taxpayer money” over several decades, including during Trump’s first presidency from 2017 to 2021. It pointed to various projects, such as $1.5 million for LGBT workplace inclusion in Serbia, $2.5 million for electric vehicle chargers in Vietnam, $6 million for tourism promotion in Egypt, and “hundreds of millions of dollars” allegedly spent to discourage Afghan farmers from growing poppies for opium—funds that purportedly ended up benefiting the Taliban.
The White House’s allegations of fraud led to a drastic reduction in USAID’s staff, shrinking the workforce from over 10,000 employees to fewer than 300. Critics, including former USAID administrators, condemned the move as “one of the worst and most costly foreign policy blunders in US history,” warning that the cuts would lead to job losses, harm American businesses, and endanger vulnerable populations worldwide.
The USAID Inspector General issued a report on the spending freeze and staff furloughs, highlighting that these actions hindered the agency’s ability to ensure its funds “do not benefit terrorists and their supporters.” The report also warned that $489 million in humanitarian food aid was at risk of spoiling due to staff shortages and unclear guidance.
The following day, the Office of Presidential Personnel fired the Inspector General, despite a law requiring 30 days’ notice to Congress before such a dismissal.
The document purge at USAID has sparked concerns about whether any of the materials should be archived or preserved for legal and historical purposes. However, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly downplayed these worries in a social media post late Tuesday, suggesting the email “was sent to roughly three dozen employees,” and pointing out that “The documents involved were old, mostly courtesy content (sent from other agencies), and the originals still exist on classified computer systems.”
Kelly said the entire affair had been “More fake news hysteria.”
