WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — For a second day, supporters of former U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) workers surrounded the Ronald Reagan Building as fired employees packed up their desks and offices.
“It’s devastating to walk out of my office and know I am not coming back here,” said Linden Yee, who has worked for USAID for the last two years.
Both she and her fiancé lost their jobs with the agency.
Lee left the building with just one box of packed belongings. She and others were only given 15 minutes to clear out their workspaces.
“We found out five minutes before our contracts were terminated that we would not be returning to work the next day,” she explained. “It was an extremely chaotic process. It’s very clear Elon Musk and DOGE do not understand the government.”
The agency, which was formed by John F. Kennedy in 1961, aids foreign countries experiencing poverty, recovering from disaster and more.
It was an immediate target of the Trump administration, which froze funds and eliminated nearly all employees.
Critics have said the shuttering of the agency will have devastating effects around the world.
“Right now, we are cutting off vital support, much of which goes to children,” explained Yee. “They are dying because of this administration.”
Laurie Geller, whose husband worked for USAID, stood in the crowd of supporters Friday.
“I’m terrified. Certainly for America and for all the federal workers who’ve livelihoods are being destroyed, but also all the people around the world USAID helps and their desperate situations,” she said.
Geller was emotional, choking back tears as she spoke.
“I’m well aware of just the unbelievably important work they do around here. It’s mind-blowing that the richest man in the world gets to decide none of that matters anymore because he needs more tax cuts,” she said.
Earlier this week, Musk, who is an advisor to President Donald Trump, defended the mass layoffs happening across the federal government. Musk is a leading voice behind the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“We wish to keep everyone who is doing a job that is essential and doing that job well. If the job is not essential or they are not doing the job well, they obviously should not be on the public payroll,” said Musk during a cabinet meeting Wednesday.
USAID is not the only agency to see massive cuts.
Most recently, hundreds of probationary employees with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were fired.
Cuts have also hit the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Veterans Affairs, the National Park Service and more.
“We should all be ashamed about what’s happening in the U.S.,” said Peggy Semmes. “How are we sitting back and letting the country be taken over?”
Semmes traveled to D.C. to support her daughter, a USAID employee, on Friday.
“Why are the American people allowing this to happen? I live in Tennessee and a lot of rural Tennesseans think this is not going to affect them. Well, a lot of them are on Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP benefits, WICK,” she said.
