Senior USAID official put on leave after memo contradicting Rubio on aid

A top U.S. International Agency for Development (USAID) official has been put on leave after he released a memo that slammed the Trump administration’s moves to cut aid and said they will cause “preventable death.”

USAID has been heavily targeted by the second Trump administration. Nearly all foreign aid spending from the agency was cut, sending the global health community into chaos, with thousands of humanitarian aid workers losing their jobs.

Nick Enrich, the USAID official, said in a memo to his colleagues that the agency has been unable to implement “lifesaving humanitarian assistance” after Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a pause on aid, NBC News reported.

“This will no doubt results in preventable death, destabilization, and threats to national security on a massive scale,” Enrich said in the memo.

Rubio issued a waiver in late January exempting “life-saving humanitarian assistance” from the foreign aid freeze, but those working on the ground say crucial operations are still ground to a halt.

Enrich sent the memo to staff Friday in his capacity as USAID Global Health acting assistant administrator.

He criticized the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which have slashed thousands of jobs and essential programs at various agencies including USAID.

Enrich argued DOGE has created “intentional and/or unintentional obstacles that have wholly prevented implementation.”

The Trump administration and State Department said a line-item review of USAID’s grants has been completed, with Rubio making a final decision on whether to “retain” or “terminate” projects.

Enrich said 72 initiatives that include lifesaving assistance have not been approved for funding, NBC reported.

“The number of deaths attributable to the loss of USAID funding and support is not known at this time,” he wrote.

A source confirmed to NBC that Enrich was placed on administrative leave Sunday, two days after sending the memo.

“Working with this incredible group of experts and professionals to improve global health was the most rewarding thing I have ever had the chance to do,” he wrote in a farewell email, according to NBC.

The Hill has reached out to the State Department for comment.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) highlighted Enrich’s statement in one of his own. As the lead Democrat on the Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, Schatz said it was “inappropriate” to place Enrich on leave and said the public deserves “real action” from the State Department to prove why the aid was cut.

“These new details confirm our worst fears: the illegal and systematic dismantling of USAID will cause real suffering and deaths that are entirely preventable,” Schatz’s statement said. “Instead of addressing the issues outlined by Acting Assistant Administrator for Global Health Nicholas Enrich, the State Department has silenced and sidelined him.” 

Updated: 1:15 p.m.