Trump administration to keep 611 USAID essential staff, notice says

FILE PHOTO: A view of the interior, as the USAID building sits closed to employees after a memo was issued advising agency personnel to work remotely, in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 3, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration will keep 611 essential workers on board at USAID, according to a notice sent to workers at the U.S. foreign aid agency late Thursday night and shared with Reuters by an administration official on Friday.

The administration had earlier planned to keep fewer than 300 staff at the U.S. Agency for International Development out of the agency's worldwide total of more than 10,000, Reuters previously reported, citing four sources familiar with the plan.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; writing by Susan Heavey; editing by Philippa Fletcher)