USAID Official Removed After Resisting Firings Ordered by Trump Administration

Nicholas Gottlieb, a senior labor official, was placed on leave after reversing orders to terminate dozens of employees without due process.

Nicholas Gottlieb, USAID's director of employee and labor relations, was suspended after refusing to carry out firings mandated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The firings targeted over 50 senior career employees and were part of broader efforts by the Trump administration to cut federal workforce costs.
Gottlieb reversed the terminations, calling them illegal and a violation of due process, before being placed on leave himself.
The firings and workforce reductions are linked to a freeze on foreign aid funding ordered by President Trump, which has disrupted humanitarian programs worldwide.
Critics warn the cuts could irreparably damage the infrastructure of U.S. foreign aid, which has been developed over decades to support global humanitarian and health initiatives.