USAID looking for lawyers to target employees who spoke to media

The U.S. Agency for International Development is in the process of hiring lawyers to carry out investigations into employees who had "unauthorized communications with the media" — like speaking to the press about their mass firings — according to a job posting.

"Lawyers will be expected to conduct investigations into general employee misconduct, and more specifically violations of various federal government regulations and policies, such as, for example, rules governing unauthorized communications with the media," the hiring post reads, according to CBS News.

The American Foreign Service Association, a union representing USAID employees, told the broadcaster it believes that the post is genuine.

The job post says the attorneys will be tasked with defending the agency against "over 200 grievances filed by employees."

A State Department spokesperson said it does not "comment on any matters related to personnel or litigation."

The job posting tracks with an email that was sent to some USAID employees last week informing them that they were under "administrative inquiry" because they had "engaged with the press/media without authorization."

The messages went on to threaten "disciplinary action" that includes being fired.

USAID was an early target for X and Tesla CEO Elon Musk's work as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency. Under Musk's guidance, the organization was effectively shuttered. On February 2, Musk — who has since stepped away from a public-facing role in DOGE after Tesla stocks and sales tanked — called USAID a "criminal organization" and said it was "time for it to die."

President Donald Trump gave a speech later that month bragging that his administration had "effectively eliminated the U.S. Agency for International Development."

As of the end of March, USAID had made clear it planned to fire the majority of the agency's employees. Their official firings are expected to occur by July1 or September 2.

Randy Chester, the vice president of the American Foreign Service Association, questioned why DOGE and the Trump administration were bothering to harass former employees who were speaking out.

"The posting raises the question of why? What is the agency's end game if they are successful?" he told CBS News. "What more could they do to someone who will be separating from the agency? It seems like the administration is scrambling."

Chester called the Trump administration's threats "total intimidation."