TRAITORS: Former USAID staffers organize resistance against Trump administration

07/09/2025 / By Ramon Tomey

Recently fired USAID staff and other federal workers are mobilizing against Trump’s policies, comparing his administration to authoritarian regimes they once opposed abroad.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced USAID’s closure, claiming it failed to serve U.S. interests. Former employees now train others in bureaucratic slowdowns and civil disobedience.
DemocracyAID, led by ex-USAID officials, hosts workshops on “noncooperation,” using deliberate inefficiencies and workplace sabotage — methods adapted from historic resistance strategies.
Officials dismiss the movement as undemocratic, while organizers defend their actions as necessary to prevent authoritarianism. Tensions escalate as fears of democratic erosion grow.
The movement reflects broader debates on government overreach and civil service neutrality. Its impact — whether disruptive or symbolic — remains unclear as ideological divisions deepen

A group of recently fired United States Agency for International Development (USAID) employees and other federal workers is mobilizing against the second Trump administration, likening its policies to authoritarian regimes they once worked against overseas.

USAID, long criticized as a vehicle for U.S.-backed political interference abroad, has now become a rallying point for internal dissent. Early this month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced its dissolution. He argued that the agency had “fallen well below” its obligations to advance Washington’s interests. (Related: Secretary of State Rubio announces SHUTDOWN of USAID after six decades.)

Now, erstwhile staffers from the disbanded foreign aid agency are training others in tactics of bureaucratic slowdowns and civil disobedience. While they argue that their actions mirror historic resistance efforts, their moves raise questions about government accountability and democratic norms in an era of escalating political tension.

DemocracyAID, a group co-led by former USAID officials, has initiated invite-only workshops for federal employees on methods of “noncooperation.” These include leveraging workplace socialization to identify allies and orchestrating deliberate inefficiencies – tactics documented in an old Central Intelligence Agency sabotage manual repurposed for their cause.

“Take it from those of us who worked in authoritarian countries: We’ve become one,” an anonymous federal employee told NOTUS. The remark underscores the activists’ belief that Trump’s dismantling of USAID inadvertently unleashed a cadre of experienced operatives into domestic opposition.

The battle behind USAID’s closure

Some predict these efforts could escalate into a nationwide general strike, though current training focuses on low-level disruptions like coordinated absenteeism and op-ed campaigns. The Trump administration, aware of the movement, has dismissed it as undemocratic.

“It is inherently undemocratic for unelected bureaucrats to undermine the duly elected president,” Deputy White House Press Secretary Anna Kelly stated. Yet the resistance persists, fueled by fears of democratic backsliding. Organizers claim inspiration from historical struggles against autocracy, drawing parallels between Trump’s policies and past oppressive regimes.

USAID’s official closure in July was merely the culmination of efforts by the Trump administration to dismantle the agency, which began in February. At the time, staffers were laid off en masse – with the forced rapid departures translating to some employees being given just 15 minutes to collect belongings.

The agency’s former staffers argue their fight is only beginning. Their methods, though unconventional, reflect a broader debate over governmental overreach and civil service neutrality. Whether these efforts will meaningfully disrupt policy or fade as symbolic protest remains uncertain.

Visit DeepState.news for more similar stories.

Watch Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao revealing that USAID was present in Africa not to provide aid, but to destablize African governments.

This video is from the Be Children of Light channel on Brighteon.com.