At least some USAID workers were told to cease all public communications about their work in the lead-up to U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
Devex obtained an email from last weekend where a USAID country office employee told members of an organization they partner with that they received “clear guidance” from colleagues in Washington, D.C., that until further notice, effective Jan. 20, they must pause all public communications.
It’s unclear from the email whether the guidance is intended to extend to the public communications of implementing partners. It’s also unclear how widespread this messaging was dispersed among USAID employees and their partners. The agency did not respond to Devex’s request for comment by the time of publication.
About the author
Sara Jervingsarajerving
Sara Jerving is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers global health. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, VICE News, and Bloomberg News among others. Sara holds a master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she was a Lorana Sullivan fellow. She was a finalist for One World Media's Digital Media Award in 2021; a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in 2018; and she was part of a VICE News Tonight on HBO team that received an Emmy nomination in 2018. She received the Philip Greer Memorial Award from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2014.
