The request raised alarm among employees and labour groups amid the ongoing dismantling of the agency.

Acting Executive Secretary Erica Y Carr sent an email that thanked staff for clearing out classified safes and personnel documents from a Washington DC office and told them to meet in the building’s lobby for an all-day disposal event on Tuesday.

“Shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes available or needs a break,” her email to staff read.

Typically, documents placed in burn bags for disposal are sealed and then taken to a secure site for incineration.

The email asked staff not to overfill the burn bags and label them with the words “SECRET” and “USAID (B/IO)” – which stands for bureau, or independent office – using permanent markers.

The BBC has viewed a copy of the email, which was also reported by its US partner, CBS News. It was first reported by ProPublica.

The US State Department did not immediately return a request for comment.

It was not immediately clear if the agency had preserved copies of the documents marked for destruction.

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), a union representing USAID staff, was aware employees had been asked to shred documents, spokesperson Nikki Gamer told the BBC.

The union said it was “alarmed” by the reports and warned that such documents “may be relevant to ongoing litigation regarding the termination of USAID employees and the cessation of USAID grants”.

The Trump administration faces multiple lawsuits over its dismantling of USAID, which began shortly after Trump took office in January. Unions and other groups have challenged the administration’s power to shut down an agency and freeze funds that had been established and approved by the US Congress.

AFSA noted that federal law dictates that government records must be preserved as they are “essential to transparency, accountability, and the integrity of the legal process”.

The union warned that “the unlawful destruction of federal records could carry serious legal consequences for anyone directed to act in violation of the law.”

Government agencies do occasionally destroy paper records of classified materials and other documents, but strict procedures govern the process.

The Federal Records Act of 1950 sets out guidelines for the proper disposal of documents and creating backup or archival records, including electronic records.

The email sent by Carr did not contain some of the details traditionally found in a records disposal request, raising concerns about procedure, experts told the BBC.

“There is no indication in this email order that any thought is being given to proper retention or even identifying which records can be destroyed and which records cannot,” said Kel McClanahan, executive director of the National Security Counselors, a non-profit law firm in Washington.

Mr McClanahan filed a complaint with the National Archives and Records Administration, asking them to “take immediate measures” to stop the destruction of records.

The loss of personnel records could also cause serious complications for federal employees who need to verify or process their employment benefits.

USAID was one of the first targets of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), which was established by the Trump administration to root out what they view as waste and fraud in the federal bureaucracy. Billionaire Elon Musk is helping lead the agency.

Musk referred to the agency as “evil” and the White House has argued that the agency’s international programmes were a wasteful use of taxpayer dollars.

Over a few dramatic weeks, the agency was essentially shut down, with thousands of employees being laid off or placed on administrative leave. Many foreign service officers stationed abroad received little to no instructions for how to return home.

Many USAID staff remain on administrative leave, which allows them to receive pay but keeps their lives and careers in limbo.

The Trump administration named Secretary of State Marco Rubio the acting head of USAID in February and announced that Pete Marocco, who works at the State Department, would oversee its daily operations.

The Trump administration also ordered a temporary freeze on foreign aid that included funds distributed by USAID, which sent shockwaves through the international development community and forced some private companies and nonprofits to lay off staff.

On Monday, Rubio announced on X that the administration was cancelling “83% of the programmes at USAID.”

“The 5200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States,” he wrote. The State Department would administer the roughly 1,000 remaining grants.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ intervention came as the administration faced a midnight deadline (05:00 GMT on Thursday) to pay contractors.

Officials had argued that they could not process the payments within the timeframe set by a lower court judge.

Since coming to power in January, US President Donald Trump has taken quick action to end many aid programmes, largely run by the US Agency for International Development, USAID, and placed most of its staff on administrative leave or sacked them.

The Trump administration is seeking to shrink the federal workforce and cut costs in a drive led by Elon Musk.

The billionaire Trump adviser asked millions of bureaucrats over the weekend to list their accomplishments from the past week – sparking fury amongst the workforce and disagreement with officials leading the department.

US District Judge Amir Ali had ordered the US State Department and USAID to pay about $2bn-worth of bills (£1.6bn) to contractors by midnight on Wednesday.

It is one of many interventions by judges trying to stop or pause a wave of Trump administration orders.

As the deadline approached, the Trump administration went to the Supreme Court, arguing it was impossible to process claims in an orderly fashion in such a short period of time.

The US federal government freeze comes as the administration carries out a review of foreign aid funding.

Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris said Judge Ali’s order “has thrown what should be an orderly review by the government into chaos”.

The cutbacks to USAID have already upended the global aid system.

Hundreds of programmes have been frozen in countries around the world since the president announced his intentions in January.

The US is by far the biggest single provider of humanitarian aid around the world.

It has bases in more than 60 countries and works in dozens of others, with much of its work carried out by its contractors.

According to the Associated Press news agency, the Trump administration wants to eliminate more than 90% of the USAID’s foreign aid contracts – and $60bn of US overseas aid.

In addition to some 4,200 staff who are being placed on leave, at least 1,600 employees are being fired.

The move comes weeks after President Donald Trump’s initial attempt to eliminate thousands of USAID employees was held up by a legal challenge.

A federal judge temporarily halted the administration’s plan to gut America’s foreign aid agency, but ruled on Friday that the pause would not be permanent. Founded in 1961, USAID employed around 10,000 staff until the recent cost-cutting began.

The notice to USAID employees on Sunday from the Office of the Administrator said that “designated personnel” responsible for critical functions or in leadership would be exempt from administrative leave.

It’s not clear how many employees will be kept on, but USAID had previously deemed 611 personnel to be essential.

The email said USAID intended to fund voluntary return travel for overseas staff.

Around 4,200 employees will be placed on leave, according to CBS.

The USAID website said there would be a “reduction-in-force” of an additional 1,600 personnel in the US.

That would amount to at least 5,800 USAID employees on administrative leave or laid off – or well over half the agency’s workforce.

The development follows a ruling on Friday by Judge Carl Nichols in Washington DC that the Trump administration could press ahead with its plans to get rid of USAID employees.

Another federal judge said last week that the Trump administration was failing to abide by a ruling requiring the government to continue financing foreign aid already approved by Congress while legal challenges play out.

It is unclear whether those USAID staff being placed on leave will eventually be rehired, or have their positions eliminated, too.

The Trump administration is seeking to shrink the federal workforce and cut costs in a drive led by Elon Musk.

The billionaire Trump adviser asked millions of bureaucrats over the weekend to list their accomplishments from the past week.

On Saturday, from the stage at a conservative convention near Washington DC, Trump said: “We’ve also effectively ended the left-wing scam known as USAID.

“The agency’s name has been removed from its former building, and that space will now house agents from Customs and Border Patrol.”

Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), a US immigration-enforcement agency, is ready to move into the USAID building in the heart of the nation’s capital.

“CBP has signed a licence agreement to occupy approximately 390,000 usable square feet in the USAID tower,” a CBP spokesperson told Fox News.

Trump and Musk have been critical of America’s sizable overseas spending, and USAID has become a lightning rod for their frustration. Trump and his allies have accused the agency of being too liberal and wasteful.

The cutbacks to USAID have already upended the global aid system. Hundreds of programmes have been frozen in countries around the world since the president announced his intentions in January.

The US is by far the biggest single provider of humanitarian aid around the world. It has bases in more than 60 countries and works in dozens of others, with much of its work carried out by its contractors.

Former USAID chief Gayle Smith previously told the BBC: “When you pull all of that out, you send some very dangerous messages.

“The US is signalling that we don’t frankly care whether people live or die and that we’re not a reliable partner.”

Judge Carl Nichols issued a “limited” temporary restraining order, in response to a last-minute lawsuit filed by two unions trying to save the agency.

The order will remain in place for a week, until 14 February at midnight.

Trump has argued that USAID, the overseas aid agency, is not a valuable use of taxpayer money and wants to dismantle it – he plans to put nearly all of the agency’s 10,000 employees on leave, except 611 workers.

Some 500 staff had already been put on administrative leave and another 2,200 were due to join them from midnight on Friday (05:00 GMT).

But the last-minute lawsuit on Friday argued the government was violating the US Constitution, and also that the workers were suffering harm.

Judge Nichols sided with the unions, saying they would suffer “irreparable harm” if the court did not intervene, while there would be “zero harm to the government”.

The order also reinstates the 500 staff already placed on administrative leave.

“All USAID employees currently on administrative leave shall be reinstated until that date, and shall be given complete access to email, payment, and security notification systems until that date, and no additional employees shall be placed on administrative leave before that date,” Nichols wrote.

The judge will also consider a request for a longer-term pause at a hearing on Wednesday.

It is unclear from the court order what will happen to the agency’s remaining staff.

As the ruling came, officials had been removing and covering USAID signs at the organisation’s headquarters in Washington DC.

USAID is the world’s biggest aid donor – with much of its budget spent on health programmes around the world. Two-thirds of its 10,000 staff work overseas.

It is one of many federal agencies his administration is targeting as it works to slash federal spending in the US.

The Republican campaigned on overhauling the government and formed an advisory body named the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) – led by tech billionaire Elon Musk – to slash the budget

Friday’s ruling by Judge Nicholscame in response to an emergency petition by the American Foreign Service Association and American Federation of Government Employees – two unions representing employees of the agency.

During the hearing, Judge Nichols – who was nominated by Trump during his first term – did not seem likely to grant other requests as part of the lawsuit, including to restore grants and contracts or reopen USAID buildings.

The legal action argued that the president was violating the US Constitution and federal law by attempting to dismantle the agency.

“Not a single one of defendants’ actions to dismantle USAID were taken pursuant to congressional authorization,” it said.

“And pursuant to federal statute, Congress is the only entity that may lawfully dismantle the agency.”

Representing the Trump administration, justice department official Brett Shumate told the judge that the president “has decided there is corruption and fraud at USAID”.

Hours after Trump took office on 20 January, he signed an executive order halting all foreign assistance until such funds were vetted and aligned with his “America First” policy.

That led to a stop work order at USAID, which runs health and emergency programmes in around 120 countries, including in the world’s poorest regions.

“USAID IS DRIVING THE RADICAL LEFT CRAZY,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

“THE CORRUPTION IS AT LEVELS RARELY SEEN BEFORE. CLOSE IT DOWN!”

But Samantha Power, who was USAID chief under former President Joe Biden, wrote in a scathing New York Times opinion piece: “We are witnessing one of the worst and most costly foreign policy blunders in US history.”

The US is by far the biggest single provider of humanitarian aid around the world. USAID’s budget amounts to around $40bn – about 0.6% of total US annual government spending of $6.75tn.

The head of the United Nations’ programme for tackling HIV/AIDS told the BBC the cuts would have dire impacts across the globe.

“AIDS related deaths in the next five years will increase by 6.3 million” if funding is not restored, UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima said.

All but a handful of essential staff are already set to be placed on administrative leave at midnight on Friday, including thousands based abroad. An online notice says a plan is being prepared for return travel and the termination of non-essential contractors.

One union representing employees – which is involved in a legal challenge to the plan – told the BBC’s US partner CBS News that just 294 staff have been deemed essential.

Trump’s cutbacks to USAID – championed by his cost-cutting advisor Elon Musk – have upended the global aid system, with hundreds of programmes already frozen in countries around the world.

His team accuses USAID of wasting taxpayer money and failing to align with “America First” policy priorities.

Polling has indicated scepticism among many Americans for foreign aid. An AP-NORC poll from March 2023 suggested as many as nine in 10 Republicans felt the country was overspending.

The US is by far the biggest single provider of humanitarian aid around the world. It has bases in more than 60 countries and works in dozens of others, with much of its work carried out by its contractors.

The reported cutback plan that would leave fewer than 300 staff was described as “outrageous” by former USAID chief Brian Atwood. Speaking to the Reuters news agency, he suggested the move could kill an agency that had saved millions of lives.

The American Foreign Service Association union (AFSA), which suggested that only 294 staff were on the “essential” list, has teamed up with another labour group, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), to file a lawsuit over the plan.

In addition to Trump, the lawsuit takes aim at the US state department, USAID, the treasury department, the secretary of state and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

The lawsuit argues that the president is violating the US Constitution and federal law by attempting to dismantle the agency. “Not a single one of defendants’ actions to dismantle USAID were taken pursuant to congressional authorization,” it says.

“And pursuant to federal statute, Congress is the only entity that may lawfully dismantle the agency.”

It calls for an independent acting director of USAID to be appointed, for USAID buildings to be reopened to employees, for the USAID website to be restored, for grants and contracts to be reinstated, and for mandatory evacuation notices to staff to be lifted.

It asks for a judge to immediately halt the implementation of the plan to “gut” USAID, which the lawsuit notes has been spearheaded by Elon Musk, due to the urgent need to resume to aid programmes.

“These actions have generated a global humanitarian crisis by abruptly halting the crucial work of USAID employees, grantees, and contractors. They have cost thousands of American jobs. And they have imperilled US national security interests,” the lawsuit says.

Thousands of USAID workers expect to be put on administrative leave from Friday night. A message posted on the agency’s website says this will apply to all direct hire personnel from 23:59 EST (04:59 GMT).

On Wednesday, Rubio defended Trump’s moves against USAID, telling about 200 agency workers in Guatemala that the US does not plan to stop distributing aid to foreign countries. But he said that the programmes must align with US priorities.

“The United States is not walking away from foreign aid,” America’s top diplomat said. “It’s not.

“We’re going to continue to provide foreign aid and to be involved in programmes, but it has to be programmes that we can defend.”

“It has to be programmes that we can explain. It has to be programmes that we can justify. Otherwise, we do endanger foreign aid.”

On Thursday, USAID employees were told to expect the agency’s staff to drop from about 10,000 to less than 300 globally, according to US media reports.

The lawsuit filed by the labour groups in Washington DC argues the president does not have the authority to shut down the agency.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the US is “not walking away from foreign aid”. The BBC has asked the White House, the state department, USAID and the treasury department for comment.

The Trump administration has said USAID is wasting money and needs to align with the president’s policy priorities.

Thursday’s lawsuit was filed by the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). It is the first legal action related to Trump’s measures to cut USAID.

In addition to Trump, the lawsuit takes aim at the US state department, USAID, the treasury department, the secretary of state and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

The lawsuit argues that the president is violating the Constitution and federal law by attempting to dismantle the agency.

“Not a single one of defendants’ actions to dismantle USAID were taken pursuant to congressional authorization,” the lawsuit says.

“And pursuant to federal statute, Congress is the only entity that may lawfully dismantle the agency.”

It calls for an independent acting director of USAID to be appointed, for USAID buildings to be reopened to employees, for the USAID website to be restored, for grants and contracts to be reinstated, and for mandatory evacuation notices to staff to be lifted.

It asks for a judge to immediately halt the implementation of the plan to “gut” USAID, which the lawsuit notes has been spearheaded by Elon Musk, due to the urgent need to resume to aid programmes.

“These actions have generated a global humanitarian crisis by abruptly halting the crucial work of USAID employees, grantees, and contractors. They have cost thousands of American jobs. And they have imperiled US national security interests,” the lawsuit says.

It comes as thousands of USAID workers expect to be put on administrative leave from Friday night.

On Wednesday, Rubio defended Trump’s moves against USAID, telling about 200 agency workers in Guatemala that the US does not plan to stop distributing aid to foreign countries. But he said that the programmes must align with US priorities.

“The United States is not walking away from foreign aid,” America’s top diplomat said. “It’s not.

“We’re going to continue to provide foreign aid and to be involved in programmes, but it has to be programmes that we can defend.”

“It has to be programmes that we can explain. It has to be programmes that we can justify. Otherwise, we do endanger foreign aid.”

In the announcement, USAID said all “direct-hire personnel” will be placed on leave at the end of this week except those on “mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs”.

The move is the latest in a string of cuts President Donald Trump has made to government-funded programs since returning to office last month.

Many have argued the choice to shut it down could have a profound impact on humanitarian programmes around the world.

USAID said it would work with the State Department to arrange and pay for return travel for its many personnel posted outside the US within the month.

Those employees who are part of the exceptions will be told by 15:00 EDT (20:00 GMT) on Thursday.

A statement posted on USAID’s website concludes with the message: “Thank you for your service.”

The agency, which provides humanitarian aid to more than 100 countries, employees 10,000 people worldwide and two-thirds of those people work overseas, according to the Congressional Research Service.

On Tuesday, many USAID staffers received an email notifying them they had been placed on paid administrative leave.

The email, obtained by BBC News, told employees they must remain “available” by telephone and email during business hours but are not allowed to enter USAID buildings.

Since returning to the White House last month, Trump and his allies have prioritised slashing government funding.

As part of that move, the Trump administration turned its focus on USAID.

Earlier this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio became the acting head of USAID, merging one government agency into another.

Elon Musk, the billionaire Tesla CEO who was appointed to run a new agency to identify spending cuts in the US government, has said USAID should be shut down as it is “beyond repair”.

Many have cautioned that closing USAID’s doors would have devastating effects on vulnerable populations across the world.

USAID’s activities range from providing prosthetic limbs to soldiers injured in Ukraine, to clearing landmines and containing the spread of Ebola in Africa.

Democrats in Washington DC have been particularly critical of the move.

“[USAID is] a foreign policy tool with bipartisan origins that is critical in this dangerous global environment,” New Jersey Senator Andy Kim wrote on social media. “Gutting it means gutting our ability to compete and keep America safe.”

The agency, founded in 1961, has bases in 60 countries and works in dozens of others.

USAID managed more than $40b (£32.25b) in fiscal year 2023, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters he was now the acting head of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the agency that distributes billions of dollars in aid around the world.

Democratic lawmakers have called it an “illegal, unconstitutional” move that would hurt poor people abroad, harm national security and reduce US influence on the global stage.

President Donald Trump and one of his top advisers, billionaire Elon Musk, have been strongly critical of the agency.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump alleged the agency run by “radical left lunatics” was getting away with “tremendous fraud”, but did not provide names or details.

USAID was established in 1961 by President John F Kennedy, and has around 10,000 employees and a budget of nearly $40bn (£32.25bn), out of a total of $68bn in US government foreign aid spending.

Calling USAID “a completely unresponsive agency”, Secretary Rubio said that a lot of functions of the organisation “are going to continue”.

“They’re going to be part of American foreign policy, but it has to be aligned with American foreign policy,” he told reporters in El Salvador.

It’s not clear how the administration plans to implement such a change.

A former USAID official hit back at Rubio and Trump, saying the organisation represented “the best and brightest that the American government has to offer”. Speaking to the BBC, Gillian Caldwell described “absolute chaos and fear” at USAID, as Trump’s team had “literally decapitated the agency”.

USAID will remain a humanitarian aid entity, despite its merger into the state department, three officials told the BBC’s US partner, CBS News.

The developments follow comments from Musk, who heads an unofficial cost-cutting agency, that the administration was planning to shut USAID down.

Over the weekend, two top security officials were placed on leave and the agency’s website went dark. Workers have since been told to stay at home. Hundreds of employees have also been locked out of their email, according to an internal message obtained by the BBC

Global aid was upended in a matter of days late last month, after President Trump froze all foreign assistance provided by the US on his return to the White House.

The turmoil was felt in countries including Afghanistan, where American aid has been funding life-saving services for women and children. One midwife told the BBC that all medical centres funded by USAID had closed and dozens of workers had told to stay at home.

In Syria, a “stop work” message was also received by hundreds of staff operating the Al-Hol displacement camp in the north-east. There, it is the job of humanitarian workers to stabilise the site – which holds 40,000 people, mostly women and children – displaced from areas previously controlled by the Islamic State group.

Outside USAID offices, Democratic Party lawmakers said the moves were against the law and that shuttering the agency would harm national security.

“It’s not only a gift to our adversaries… it is plain illegal,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, suggesting that the likes of China and Russia could be emboldened by weakened American influence on the world stage.

The situation in Syria was cited by Congressman Johnny Olszewski, who also represents Maryland. “This is real life, this is dangerous and this is serious,” he said.

Others alleged that Musk was motivated by his business interests.

“Elon Musk makes billions of dollars based off of his business with China, and China is cheering at this action today,” claimed Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut.

Musk has been put in charge of an initiative called the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), a team that is not an official government body but given broad leeway by Trump to slash government spending.

Its legal status is unclear, as is its authority to order the shutdown of government programmes without consulting Congress in the case of USAID, for example. Doge has already been the subject of several court challenges.

Over the weekend, Musk posted dozens of messages including allegations that the agency was rife with fraud and corruption.

On X, the social network that he owns, he called USAID “evil”, a “criminal organisation” and a “radical-left political psy op” – short for “psychological operation”, a term commonly used online to allege a conspiracy or cover-up.

In a live stream on X early Monday, he told followers: “You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It’s beyond repair. … We’re shutting it down.

On Monday, US media – citing unnamed White House sources – said Musk had been given an unpaid job as a part-time “special government employee”, a status which would potentially make him subject to several rules about financial disclosures and conflicts of interest.

At the White House, Trump defended Musk’s handling of the situation, saying the tech tycoon had “access only to letting people go that he thinks are no good, if we agree with him, and it’s only if we agree with him”.

“Elon can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval,” he said.

USAID distributes billions in aid to non-governmental organisations, aid groups and non-profits around the world.

With its website down, several key information hubs, including an international famine tracker and decades of aid records, were unavailable.

Top officials have been placed on leave or resigned in the last several days following clashes with Musk’s Doge, including over requests that employees of the unofficial department be given access to a highly secure area used for reviewing classified information, the Washington Post and CNN reported this weekend.

“No classified material was accessed without proper security clearances,” Katie Miller, Doge spokesperson, wrote on X.

USAID director for security John Vorhees and deputy Director for Security Brian McGill, were both placed on administrative leave as a result, CBS reports.

A top political appointee, USAID chief of staff Matt Hopson, also resigned, the Washington Post reported.

Plans involved a significant reduction in USAID’s funding and the workforce, CBS News, BBC’s US partner, reports, but it would continue its function as an aid agency.

The reported plan portends even more significant disruption for USAID, whose employees were told to stay home on Monday as Elon Musk claimed the agency would be shut down.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The comments from the billionaire Trump adviser, who is not a government official, came amid turmoil after two top security officials were placed on leave. The agency’s website has not worked since Saturday.

But President Trump was less definitive about shuttering the agency, telling reporters on Sunday night that USAID was run by “a bunch of radical lunatics”.

“We’re getting them out,” he said, “and then we’ll make a decision.”

Over the last week, Musk railed against USAID as he sought to assert control over the agency. Musk is leading the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), a team that is not an official government but that Trump has given broad leeway to slash government spending.

Musk does not have the authority to shut down a government department and the legality of such a move is in question.

On X, the social media platform that he owns, he called it “evil” and a “criminal organisation”. In a live stream on X early Monday, he told followers, “You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It’s beyond repair. … We’re shutting it down.”

Staffers who work at the agency’s Washington DC headquarters were told to stay home on Monday. Hundreds of employees were also locked out of their email, according to an internal email obtained by the BBC.

An effort could be underway to bring USAID, which was established by an act of the US Congress, more directly under the control of Trump’s Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.

Republican congressman Brian Mast, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told “Face the Nation” that USAID is “likely going to be rolled more closely under Secretary Rubio.”

Whether the agency is shut down or restructured, the changes sought by Musk and Trump would have far-reaching implications. USAID distributes billions in aid to non-governmental organisations, aid groups and nonprofits around the world.

With its website down, several key information reserves, including an international famine tracker and decades of aid records, appeared to be unavailable.

Top officials have been placed on leave or resigned in the last two days following clashes with Musk’s (Doge), a team set up in consultation with the administration that Trump has given broad leeway to slash government spending.

Members of Doge clashed with the security officials after requesting access to a highly secure area used for reviewing classified information, the Washington Post and CNN reported this weekend.

“No classified material was accessed without proper security clearances,” Katie Miller, a spokesperson for Doge, wrote on X.

USAID director for security John Vorhees and deputy Director for Security Brian McGill, were both placed on administrative leave as a result, CBS reports.

A top political appointee, chief of staff Matt Hopson, also resigned, the Washington Post reported.