USAID Cancels Jobs for Dozens of Applicants Amid State Department Hiring Freeze by Carol Morello – Washington Post
For the foreseeable future, the developing world will have fewer American engineers, economists, teachers and health workers to help prepare for the future.
The U.S. Agency for International Development sent letters last month to 97 applicants for Foreign Service jobs, saying the positions had been “cancelled.”
None of the applicants work for USAID. But many already had passed their required medical and security clearances and had been waiting months to be hired, according to an official with the agency.
The jobs all were for overseas spots at the core of USAID’s mission and were being sought to fill existing and anticipated vacancies caused in part by attrition, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to address hiring decisions more candidly.
USAID is an independent agency, but it follows foreign policy guidance from the secretary of state. Its mission is to ease poverty, promote democracy and assist economic development.
The decision to inform applicants that the jobs they sought no longer exist grew out of a partial hiring freeze put in place by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson while a “redesign” of the department is underway…