Scoop: USAID issues staff guidance on DEIA, foreign aid pause orders

The United States Agency for International Development sent out guidance to staff on how the agency should implement two executive orders U.S. President Donald Trump issued on his first day in office. That includes Trump’s shutdown of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, or DEIA, programs across the U.S. government and a 90-day pause in disbursements of foreign aid, which was followed by the U.S. State Department issuing a stop-work order for existing grants and contracts and an immediate pause on new foreign aid spending. The moves have received widespread condemnation by the aid sector and sparked confusion around what will happen next. “This halt interrupts critical life-saving work including clean water to infants, basic education for kids, ending the trafficking of girls, and providing medications to children and others suffering from disease,” wrote InterAction, the leading alliance of international non-governmental organizations in the U.S., in a statement about the foreign aid stop-work order. “It stops assistance in countries critical to U.S. interests, including Taiwan, Syria, and Pakistan. And, it halts decades of life-saving work through PEPFAR that helps babies to be born HIV-free.” Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Jason Gray, the acting administrator of USAID, wrote a memo to staff on Friday — which Devex obtained a copy of — saying the agency is taking “prompt action” to comply with Trump’s order to shut down DEIA programming across the government, and that this memo would serve as initial guidance on how to move forward. This includes putting DEIA employees on paid administrative leave and reassigning personnel engaged in DEIA-related activities. Training, contracts, and activities related to this work must cease immediately, agency documents must be suspended, and the agency’s strategic plan on DEIA, as well as related plans, are rescinded, he wrote. Those who fail to comply “may face discipline or a performance based action.” The memo describes DEIA as “promoting a divisive preferential hierarchy” in areas including “race, sex, etc.” that “undermines American values of hard work and excellence.” Gray wrote that specific terms within the DEIA umbrella include diversity, equity, inclusion; and environmental justice. But the memo also lists previous presidential executive orders, memorandums, national plans, and strategies from prior administrations that fall within this umbrella to include work on ending gender-based violence; increasing both gender and racial equity; supporting underserved communities; preventing discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation; and advancing equality and human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex people. The memo calls on staff to report changes in contracts, grants, or personnel descriptions following Trump’s election victory in November that were intended “to obscure the connection between the contract or grant and DEIA or similar ideologies” within 10 days. Training providers, such as USAID University and the Foreign Service Institute, must revise their courses and the agency will create new employee recruitment and fellowship guidance. And performance management guidance will be changed to remove DEIA metrics for foreign service officers, as well as from civil service annual evaluation forms, Gray wrote. Any agency sponsored organization, committee, or council “promoting a divisive hierarchy” will be abolished, and media doing the same must be removed, he wrote. Gray called on administrators and directors within the agency to immediately review operations and job duties, and provide updates on their progress in 90 days and another 90 days following that. Separately, Jami Rodgers, USAID procurement executive, sent a notice to USAID contracting and agreement officers and implementing partners on Friday which said that all previously identified principal DEIA awards have been sent termination notices and should not incur any further costs. For other ongoing awards, DEIA activities are to cease immediately, with awards to be modified or terminated. Partners are expected to send a certification that their DEIA-related activities have stopped — if they received a stop-work order or termination notice. Pausing foreign aid On the 90-day pause in disbursements of foreign aid, Gray wrote in a separate memo — which Devex also obtained a copy of — that within 30 days, the State Department will develop review standards to ensure foreign assistance is aligned with Trump’s foreign policy agenda. This will then lead to a decision on whether to continue, modify, or terminate programs. Gray wrote that for this, foreign assistance includes program accounts but not operating expenses or capital investment fund accounts. All new program-funded obligations and subobligations are on pause, he wrote, with a few exceptions: 1. Emergency food assistance and administrative expenses associated with that assistance, including salaries. 2. On a temporary basis, salaries and related administrative expenses, such as travel for U.S. direct hire employees, foreign service limited positions, crisis operations staff, personal services contractors, and locally employed staff. 3. Legitimate prior expenses under existing awards or legitimate expenses associated with stop-work orders. 4. The Director of Foreign Assistance can approve other exceptions. Additionally, Gray wrote he’s “immediately directing all contracting and agreement officers to issue stop-work orders or bilateral amendments, consistent with the terms of the relevant awards or agreements, until determinations are made following the review.” The pause also applies to new requests for proposals, notices of funding opportunities, or other requests for foreign assistance, he wrote. USAID had not responded to Devex’s request for comment at the time of publication.