‘Hysteria’: White House shuts down concerns over USAID document purge
The White House has pushed back against concerns that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is directing employees to destroy classified documents as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to close down the agency. The controversy arose after USAID’s acting Executive Secretary, Erica Carr, reportedly instructed staff to shred and burn documents, prompting government labor unions to file a motion in federal court.
According to White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly, the documents in question are still accessible on computer systems, and the directive coincides with plans for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to occupy the USAID building. Kelly dismissed the allegations, stating that the order was sent to only a few dozen employees and that the documents were mostly non-sensitive content from other agencies.
An administration official clarified that all individuals involved in the document disposal process held secret security clearances or higher and were not among those who had been placed on administrative leave. These individuals were specifically chosen by the agency to review and carry out the purge, ensuring that they were familiar with the content they were handling.
The controversy comes on the heels of significant workforce changes at USAID, where thousands of employees were either terminated or placed on administrative leave following recommendations from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut down on wasteful spending. Carr’s email instructing employees to shred documents first and then resort to burning them if necessary has raised concerns among various groups, including the American Foreign Service Association.
The union, along with other organizations, filed a motion in a Washington, D.C., federal court seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent USAID from destroying documents on a large scale without a proper assessment of their retention obligations. They have called on USAID to provide more guidance on the directive to ensure compliance with federal records preservation laws.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently announced that the State Department had completed a review and would be discontinuing over 80% of USAID programs. This move is part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to streamline government operations and reduce spending.
In conclusion, the preservation of government records is crucial for transparency, accountability, and the integrity of legal proceedings. Any unauthorized destruction of federal records could have serious legal consequences. The situation at USAID underscores the importance of adhering to established protocols for record retention and disposal to uphold the rule of law.
