The email came from from the agency's acting executive secretary. He asked Kel McClanahan, a national security attorney, if this was legal. "No it is not," he said. It breaks the Federal Records Act. "Classified records are still federal records."

DOCUMENT DESTRUCTION: My reporter Brett Murphy obtained a remarkable directive to folks at USAID: Empty the safes with the classified and personnel records and then, "Shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break."

me when i lie

My #NGO lost 100% of our #USAID funded programs. Now they're coming after our #USDA projects. We were told we had to submit justification for how each program aligns with this administration's priorities - in 200 characters. Tweet-length arguments for programs that have 60-page technical designs!

DOGE cut off payments for the electricity, cell phone, and internet service of U.S. government employees who work in a high-risk area in Central America. Meanwhile, DOGE apparently plans to spend $25,000 to install a washer and dryer for their own personal use in a federal office building in DC.

This graphic is for one maternal and child health program my NGO was part of through USAID. Starting in 2021, this cumulative data is the last we have before the #USAIDstopworkorder in January. (We learned last week the order is permanent for this project, along with 94% of all USAID programs.) 1/

It's not a government it's a goddamned mafia takeover. It's life under control of armed cartels. Something we worked our asses off to help other countries escape.

"Bring back law and order", says the convicted felon who is firing DOJ lawyers, destroying agencies illegally, and pardoning criminals that stormed the capitol to overturn an election.

My husband is stuck at BWI during this power outage. He says when the lights first went out, they had to stand still in the dark for ~25 minutes until it was deemed safe to move. Very surreal. He also seems to be in a dead zone - can't get internet or text, but he can call me for news updates.

The Capitol Police arrested a group of peaceful protesters who demonstrated today in the Cannon House Office Building against the Trump’s decision to freeze foreign aid and lay off thousands of USAID workers. The president has made his message clear: disagree with them, and they will come after you.

I fear we are already too far on the wrong side of history to self-correct. I have never been this scared.

"You cannot A-B test what happens when you dissolve USAID. Maybe you save a lot of money for two years or five years or twenty years, and the decision looks efficient. But then a crisis erupts." "Efficiency" does not straightforwardly apply to government.

No wonder they want to defund NPR. ☺️

"Donald Trump and JD Vance aren’t going to respond by saying, 'These Untermenschen deserve to die.' But you know who just might say that out loud? The ketamine-addled billionaire and his menagerie of 20-year-old incels." So make them say it.

I work for an FBO. These are generally favored by conservative administrations, but we are under attack. Most of us operate independently of the denomination we’re affiliated with and are on our own for fundraising. We can’t just open the church coffers for more money to replace what was lost.

As an (actual) Appalachian who went to an Ivy League university, here's my take on why JD Vance is such a hateful bootlicker. Vance is a guy who never felt like he belonged. He didn't have money, he got bounced around as a kid, he wasn't "good enough" for his mom to stay clean. But he was smart. 1/

This is probably the most accurate take.

the single most un-american and anti-constitutional statement ever uttered by an american president

House Republicans released a draft budget that aims to cut $2 trillion in spending. The programs impacted could include Medicaid, SNAP, and education programs. Why the cuts? To finance another round of tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. It's reverse Robin Hood.

I rarely go on LinkedIn bc the vibe is yucky to me, but I logged in today. It was a hellscape of former NGO colleagues and USAID friends who lost their jobs and are looking for work. Literally one post after the next by skilled people with big hearts, and this is just one sector of many being cut.

I am going to be so pissed if--after everything--I do, in fact, die of dysentery.

One of our supporters shared this with us—people are getting creative tonight!

looking back, AOL had it right. 30 hours of internet per month was the right amount.

Folks: I am NOT affiliated with the group that is using my name to support an economic boycott. Please spread this post, if you would.

Always be grifting, part 2: At least someone is buying them www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/u...

On Monday, USAID's IG warned that Trump's agency cuts have made it harder to root out fraud and abuse — and that nearly $500M in food was about to spoil due to Trump's foreign aid freeze. On Tuesday, Trump fired him. So much for transparency.

Disgusting.

The CFPB is one of the American people’s best defenses against waste, fraud, and abuse. Demolishing it will, of course, lead to more waste, fraud, and abuse.

Even if you *agree* with Trump that we should greatly prioritize our own problems, you should support foreign aid. For a fraction of our budget, we can reduce the sorts of problems abroad that can eventually make it to our borders. Tamar Jacoby on USAID:

Anyone else struggling to parent right now? My kids are old enough to understand why things are tense. They crave reassurance from me, just as I feel powerless to protect them. (Should I be stockpiling food/doomsday prepping?) Meanwhile, we still have math homework. It's March 2020 all over again.

“Artists are here to disturb the peace. They have to disturb the peace. Otherwise, chaos.” — James Baldwin, interview with Studs Terkel, July 15th, 1961

We want to warn of a conflict of interest involving Elon Musk. Musk has gained access to the agency’s computer systems, raising concerns about how his pending business ventures and their competitors may now be regulated.

USAID needs an umbrella coz we've got a storm of disinformation about there about what we do and we need good people who care about other people to spread the FACTS. It's us and truth v MAGA. Please share this video and thread! #TeamUSAID #AIDBowl www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqUE...

And here's another fact. US taxpayers wouldn't have to pay an extra cent for all the amazing programs we do in the world if billionaires like Musk paid their fair share. #TeamUSAID #AIDBowl www.oxfam.org/en/press-rel...

Musk is ready to put up $40M on #Superbowl ads calling #USAID wasteful. Here's what we would have done with that money: 🏈Purchased HIV treatment from U.S. pharma companies to keep 1M pp alive for 1 year.

Opened the FGF Brands website to see which doughnut brands have been recalled due to listeria. Had to laugh at the main message on their homepage.

Mump are trying to gaslight us into believing they have unlimited power. They do not. Fascism succeeds by making it hard for people to envision the alternative. Our job is to help people see the real reality: that Trump and Musk can, and already are, being stopped. open.substack.com/pub/reframin...

The WashPost's @glennkessler.bsky.social examined claims the Trump administration made about USAID spending (DEI opera, etc.), and 11 of 12 examples proved inaccurate. I mentor high school journalists, and I've never seen a high school paper as unreliable an information source as this White House.

Hi all! I'm into reading books, raising my kids to be forces for good, admiring my dog's cuteness, exercising, writing, cooking and watching Severance with my husband. I guess I'm here to process the decimation of #USAID (which affects my career directly) and other atrocities in the US. 👋