A foreign service worker has filed a federal court affidavit accusing the Trump administration of endangering the health of his pregnant wife amid the shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The worker, identified as “Terry Doe” in the court filing, claims the administration’s “rushed, haphazard, and cruel” efforts to close down the agency have put his wife and unborn daughter at serious risk.
The affidavit is part of a larger case in Washington, D.C., in which Doe alleges that the U.S. government twice denied medical transport orders for his wife, who is 31 weeks pregnant and facing life-threatening complications.
“Each day has brought a new wave of suffering,” Doe said, describing the government’s actions as confusing, conflicting, and cruel. “The constant stress from my employer’s actions has led to my wife being hospitalized repeatedly with life-threatening conditions and complications caused by stress.”
According to the affidavit, the couple was instructed to evacuate due to the mother’s high risk of hemorrhaging. Despite having received approval for evacuation twice, the State Department canceled the medical transport on February 4 and 6, stating that there was no USAID funding for the evacuation.
The worker said he reached out to numerous people for help before a sympathetic senator intervened. By that point, however, his wife had already begun hemorrhaging and required emergency hospitalization at their overseas post. The filing states that she is now on bed rest, as moving her and the unborn child is deemed too risky.
Doe blamed the situation on the administration’s quick push to shut down USAID, calling it an example of “acceptable collateral damage” for political gain.
The White House did not respond immediately to a request for comment from NBC News.
Earlier this month, President Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk, who leads the president’s government downsizing initiative, announced that USAID would be shut down. The agency, which provides billions of dollars in humanitarian aid to over 100 countries, plays a critical role in global relief efforts, funding that advocates say is a small but vital part of the federal budget.
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