A senior official from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) recently directed remaining personnel to gather at the agency’s former headquarters in Washington, D.C., for an extensive document destruction operation. This initiative, which took place on Tuesday, focuses on eliminating a variety of documents, many containing sensitive information.
The materials set for destruction include “classified safes and personnel documents” from the Ronald Reagan Building, according to an email sent by the acting executive director, Erica Carr. This email was acquired by POLITICO.
“Shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break,”
the email advised. Carr also requested that staff label the burn bags clearly with the words “SECRET” and “USAID/B/IO/” (which stands for “bureau or independent office”) using a dark Sharpie.
The email did not specify the rationale behind this mass document destruction. The building is currently being vacated following significant layoffs, which may have disrupted the usual schedule for document disposal. Customs and Border Protection is set to occupy the USAID facility after leasing 390,000 square feet of office space there last month.
Document destruction highlights agency upheaval
This situation further highlights the chaotic dismantling of an agency that previously managed an annual budget of $40 billion and employed over 10,000 staff members globally during the Trump administration.
Recent attempts by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to access secure computer systems at USAID—specifically, information regarding employee security clearances—sparked significant controversy within the agency. This incident led to the administration placing two security staff members on administrative leave, although a spokesperson for DOGE later clarified that there was “no improper access” to classified materials.
Former staff speak out on unprecedented actions
The State Department has not yet commented on the document purge. A former USAID employee verified the authenticity of Carr’s email, labeling the mass destruction of agency documents as unprecedented.
“I’ve never seen something like this — en masse. Everyone with a safe is supposed to keep it up to date and destroy documents when they no longer need to be stored,”
the former staffer, who requested anonymity due to fears of retaliation by the Trump administration, explained. “Sometimes security will check your safe and tell you if you have to clean out old material.”
USAID has become a focal point amid Trump and tech mogul Elon Musk’s plans for a reduced federal workforce. A significant portion of USAID’s employees have either been laid off or placed on administrative leave, and staff members are currently challenging these changes in court with varying degrees of success.
This week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that over 80 percent of USAID’s programs have been terminated, with the remaining programs set to be managed by the State Department.