The U.S. Agency for International Development ordered employees to destroy internal documents Tuesday, according to an agency directive, raising new questions about how sensitive records are being handled in the Trump administration’s drive to curtail America’s assistance activities overseas.
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According to an email obtained by The Washington Post, a senior USAID official ordered employees to shred or burn documents at the organization’s Washington headquarters, including those related to agency personnel and those stored in safes used for classified material.
The efforts triggered immediate alarm on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers took steps to remind the administration of its obligation to comply with laws prohibiting the destruction of government information.
The document-destruction order, signed by the agency’s acting executive secretary, Erica Y. Carr, follows a rapid-fire series of actions by President Donald Trump and his top aides to dismantle USAID over the past two months, including the cancellation of the vast majority of the agency’s contracts, the termination of more than 1,600 positions and the decision to put almost all of its workforce of roughly 10,000 on administrative leave.
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The campaign against USAID, championed by Trump adviser Elon Musk, has set off an outcry among supporters of America’s decades-old tradition of funding nutrition, medical, democracy and other assistance programs overseas, who argue it extends U.S. global influence and supports stability worldwide. Musk, the world’s richest man, and other administration officials have described USAID as a “criminal organization” that must be sidelined or scrapped, though they have failed to provide details of any alleged widespread criminal activity.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who supported U.S. assistance during his years as a U.S. senator, this week touted the cancellation of programs he said failed to advance or contradicted American interests.
USAID and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/12/sarah-mcbride-keith-self-house-misgendering/
Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (New York), the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the administration did not appear to be complying with the Federal Records Act, which governs the handling of government documents and other material.
“Haphazardly shredding and burning USAID documents and personnel files seems like a great way to get rid of evidence of wrongdoing when you’re illegally dismantling the agency,” Meeks said in a statement.
An aide with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, said members of the committee’s Democratic staff had contacted the State Department and USAID for details about “compliance with records laws.”
Sign up for Fact Checker, our weekly review of what's true, false or in-between in politics.
According to an email obtained by The Washington Post, a senior USAID official ordered employees to shred or burn documents at the organization’s Washington headquarters, including those related to agency personnel and those stored in safes used for classified material.
The efforts triggered immediate alarm on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers took steps to remind the administration of its obligation to comply with laws prohibiting the destruction of government information.
The document-destruction order, signed by the agency’s acting executive secretary, Erica Y. Carr, follows a rapid-fire series of actions by President Donald Trump and his top aides to dismantle USAID over the past two months, including the cancellation of the vast majority of the agency’s contracts, the termination of more than 1,600 positions and the decision to put almost all of its workforce of roughly 10,000 on administrative leave.
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ADVERTISING
The campaign against USAID, championed by Trump adviser Elon Musk, has set off an outcry among supporters of America’s decades-old tradition of funding nutrition, medical, democracy and other assistance programs overseas, who argue it extends U.S. global influence and supports stability worldwide. Musk, the world’s richest man, and other administration officials have described USAID as a “criminal organization” that must be sidelined or scrapped, though they have failed to provide details of any alleged widespread criminal activity.
🏛️
Follow Politics
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who supported U.S. assistance during his years as a U.S. senator, this week touted the cancellation of programs he said failed to advance or contradicted American interests.
USAID and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/12/sarah-mcbride-keith-self-house-misgendering/
Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (New York), the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the administration did not appear to be complying with the Federal Records Act, which governs the handling of government documents and other material.
“Haphazardly shredding and burning USAID documents and personnel files seems like a great way to get rid of evidence of wrongdoing when you’re illegally dismantling the agency,” Meeks said in a statement.
An aide with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, said members of the committee’s Democratic staff had contacted the State Department and USAID for details about “compliance with records laws.”
