USAID: Message & Expectation to the Workforce

On January 25, 2025, Ken Jackson, USAID's Assistant to the Administrator for Management and Resources, sent an internal memo to all USAID employees titled "Message and Expectation to the Workforce." According to news outlets that reviewed its contents, the memo reiterated a previous stop-work order for USAID to pause all foreign assistance programs and funding contracts. It also outlined other steps the workforce would take to comply with this stop-work order and meet the President's objectives in his Executive Order titled "Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid." The memo also banned any communications outside the agency, including between USAID and the State Department, unless USAID's front office approved them. Lastly, it stated that "failure to abide by this directive, or any of the directives sent out earlier this week and in the coming weeks, will result in disciplinary action." This ban builds on previous reports of a public communications ban effective January 20, 2025.