Artworks and pictures have been removed from the offices of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) across the globe, according to an X post from NBC’s Washington reporter Vaughn Hillyard. Vaughn, quoting a source, said that employees have been told that artworks have been removed as part of the Trump administration’s “America First” positioning.
The post featured a picture of dozens of works of art, including a map what appeared to be southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and North Africa, and an image of a concert in Kenya. These pictures appeared to have been haphazardly stacked on a utility cart.
According to the Congressional Research Service, USAID is the main international humanitarian aid and development arm of the federal government. In the 2023 fiscal year it managed more than $40 billion in appropriations. USAID has missions in more than 60 countries and in 2023 delivered aid and funds to more than 130.
Exactly how much art has been removed, and from where, is unclear. USAID has not responded to a request for comment about who will decide what is appropriate art for the new “America First” mission, whether the art will be stored or tossed out, and whether the USAID was acting proactively or was ordered to remove the artwork.
The social media response ranged from panic to hilarity. Some users comparison the removal to the purging of modern art from German museums in the late 1930s by the Nazi party, while others pointed out that President Donald Trump had released a line of NFTs “trading cards” just a few years ago that would look pleasant if nicely framed and displayed in an office setting. Multiple users wondered whether this move would help the President realize his campaign promise of lowering the price of eggs.
USAID has been in a particularly difficult spot since the barrage of executive orders flew off the Resolute Desk during Trump’s first days in office. According to NBC, more than 50 of the agency’s career civil servants and foreign service officers were put on administrative leave earlier this week, with a focus on senior officials and attorneys.
In an Orwellian twist, the order to put those officials on administrative leave was rescinded by USAID’s director of employee and labor relations, Nick Gottlieb, who was himself put on leave for disregarding an order from the newly created Department of Government Efficiency to fire a group of employees “without due process.”
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