The Whistleblower Account of USAID’s Dismantlement

Nicholas Enrich, a former top global health official at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has released a book detailing the agency’s 2025 dissolution. In Into the Woodchipper: A Whistleblower’s Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID, Enrich documents his tenure under four administrations and his subsequent dismissal after leaking internal memos regarding the agency’s closure. The book provides a firsthand account of the internal conflict during the 2025 Ebola outbreak in Uganda, a period during which Enrich claims his efforts to manage the U.S. response were blocked by political appointees.

The Internal Conflict During the 2025 Ebola Outbreak

According to Enrich, the agency’s ability to respond to the 2025 Ebola outbreak in Uganda was severely restricted by leadership. Enrich reports that he was informed by the head of the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance that the Ebola virus was a “scam,” leading to the rejection of proposed response activities. These restrictions allegedly included a ban on communicating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), which prevented the deployment of pre-positioned personal protective equipment stored in Kenya.

The Impact of Agency Dissolution on Global Health

Enrich argues that the destruction of USAID has created a significant void in international emergency response. Before its closure, USAID utilized specialized Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DART) to coordinate contact tracing, community education, and safe burial procedures. Without these established systems, Enrich notes that the State Department is currently attempting to improvise responses to new outbreaks, such as those occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He contends that the loss of the “global immune system”—a strategy involving billions of dollars in investment for early detection and disease surveillance—leaves the United States underprepared for future pandemics.

Reflections on Civil Service and Accountability

In his account, Enrich expresses regret over his role in implementing certain directives from political leadership prior to his departure. He admits to creating lists of staff members for termination and removing life-saving activities from approved project lists to comply with administrative demands. Reflecting on his career, Enrich states that he was initially naive about the political landscape, having served as a career civil servant rather than an activist. He maintains that while USAID could have improved its efficiency, the agency operated on less than 1% of the federal budget and was responsible for saving 92 million lives over the previous two decades.

The Future of U.S. Foreign Aid

Enrich remains an advocate for the creation of a new, independent agency dedicated to international development. He draws a comparison to the structure of the U.S. government, noting that the State Department and the Department of Defense possess distinct missions. By his assessment, international development requires a similar, unique organizational structure to function as the “third leg of the foreign policy stool.” He asserts that the official policy of the United States during his tenure was to foster a safer and healthier world, a mission he believes must be restored through a dedicated, independent entity.