‘Hysteria’: White House shuts down concerns over USAID document purge

The White House dismissed concerns that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is instructing employees to destroy classified documents amid efforts by the Trump administration to shutter the agency. 

USAID’s acting Executive Secretary Erica Carr instructed employees to begin shredding and burning documents, according to a motion that government labor unions filed in a federal court Tuesday. 

But the documents remain available on computer systems – and the order comes as U.S. Customs and Border Protection is poised to move into the USAID building, according to White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly. 

“This was sent to roughly three dozen employees,” Kelly said in a Tuesday night X post regarding Carr’s order. “The documents involved were old, mostly courtesy content (content from other agencies), and the originals still exist on classified computer systems. More fake news hysteria!”

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The order comes as Customs and Border Protection is poised to move into the USAID building, according to White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly. (Annabelle Gordon/Reuters)

Everyone involved in the process of eliminating the documents had a secret security clearance or higher, and were not among those placed on administrative leave, an administration official told Fox News Digital Wednesday. 

As a result, those involved were familiar with the content they were handling and were specifically appointed by the agency to review and conduct the purge, the official said. 

Thousands of employees at USAID were either fired or placed on administrative leave in February, following recommendations from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to implement cuts targeting wasteful spending. 

Carr issued an email to employees instructing them to “shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break,” ProPublica first reported Tuesday. 

The State Department, which oversees USAID, did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

The American Foreign Service Association, a union representing those who serve in the U.S. Foreign Service and several other groups, filed a motion Tuesday in a Washington, D.C., federal court requesting a temporary restraining order blocking USAID from ordering employees to destroy documents. 

Specifically, the groups asserted in the filing that Carr’s order “suggests a rapid destruction of agency records on a large scale that could not plausibly involve a reasoned assessment of the records retention obligations for the relevant documents.” 

The American Foreign Service Association said it would monitor the situation and pressed officials at USAID to issue more guidance on the directive. 

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Former employees of USAID leave the headquarters building in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 27, 2025. (Leigh Green for Fox News Digital)

“Federal law is clear: the preservation of government records is essential to transparency, accountability, and the integrity of the legal process,” the American Foreign Service Association said in a Tuesday statement. 

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“The Federal Records Act of 1950 and its implementing regulations establish strict requirements for the retention of official records, particularly those that may be relevant to legal proceedings,” the statement said. “Furthermore, the unlawful destruction of federal records could carry serious legal consequences for anyone directed to act in violation of the law.” 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the State Department had concluded a six-week review and would cancel more than 80% of USAID programs.