US President Donald Trump’s administration announced plans Friday to effectively close the US international development agency USAID, formalising widely-criticised plans to dramatically cut foreign aid spending.

Pete Marocco, who played a major role in the dismantling of the agency, will return to the State Department

Their efforts to close the foreign aid agency likely violated the US Constitution, the judge said.

The unions said the directive "suggests a rapid destruction of agency records on a large scale"

WFP’s food aid cuts may lead to a humanitarian disaster

More than 700 people have signed onto the letter, a US official speaking on the condition of anonymity said.

Amid USAID funding cuts, government and NGOs should collaborate to keep key projects alive

Tens of thousands of development professionals are facing joblessness following USAID's decision to cancel the majority of its nearly 100 projects in Bangladesh

The review in part targeted multi-year foreign assistance contracts awarded by the USAID, with the vast majority eliminated during its course.

All other staff directly hired by USAID will be placed on administrative leave globally

"People will die because of these decisions," said a Sudanese fundraising volunteer

Paul Martin's dismissal came a day after his office issued a report critical of the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the agency

It also bars the administration from relocating USAID humanitarian workers stationed outside the United States.

Two unions representing USAID staff filed a lawsuit on Thursday over the cuts against Trump and his administration

The administrative leave will hit "all USAID direct hire personnel

Blanket stop-work orders that were issued by the State Department have thrown the aid industry into panic

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday he had been put in charge of the US aid agency, saying he would stop its "insubordination" to President Donald Trump's agenda

Billionaire Elon Musk, who is heading US President Donald Trump’s drive to shrink the federal government, gave an update on the effort early yesterday, saying work is underway to shut down the US foreign aid agency USAID.

Trump initially froze all aid spending for three months

This sudden shift raises critical questions about what would happen if the US were to halt funding entirely.