Trump administration officials have fired workers for the main American aid agency who were sent to Myanmar to assess how the United States could help with earthquake relief efforts, three people with knowledge of the actions said.
The firings, done Friday while the workers were in the rubble-strewn city of Mandalay, raise doubts about Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s stated commitment to continuing some humanitarian and crisis aid even as the aid organization, the U.S. Agency for International Development, is dismantled by the Trump administration.
More than 3,300 people were killed and more than 4,800 injured in Myanmar, according to Burmese government estimates. A tropical storm was lashing much of the country on Saturday, with heavy rain and winds leading to flooding. The Trump administration has been criticized by Democratic lawmakers and others for what they called its paltry response.
The three experienced aid workers got termination emails addressed specifically to them just days after arriving in Myanmar, said the three people with knowledge of the situation, who are current and former U.S.A.I.D. officials. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid retribution.
One of the aid workers had flown in from Washington, and the other two from Bangkok and Manila, where the aid agency has regional operations.
Other aid agency employees said they were furious over the way the workers in Myanmar had been fired. Separately, U.S. diplomats said on Friday they were worried that changes in the top ranks of the State Department that took place that day could presage wider purges and layoffs to come there. Besides enacting American foreign policy, the department is taking over all foreign aid now that U.S.A.I.D. is being dismantled.