Today Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-01) introduced her Pathways for Advancement, Transition, and Hiring (PATH) to the Foreign Service Act with Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) leading companion legislation in the Senate. This bill would provide a foreign service career pathway for former United States Agency for International Development (USAID) officers.

“Those who dutifully served at USAID before the Trump Administration wrongfully dismantled the agency included some of our most talented and skilled international affairs experts in the United States government,” said Congresswoman Dina Titus. “Our national security cannot afford to lose this institutional knowledge. I am introducing my PATH to the Foreign Service Act to ensure that these officers can continue to serve their country and foster a critical aspect of the nation’s soft power as Foreign Service Officers in the State Department.”

“The State Department needs experienced professionals to effectively administer foreign assistance, which is exactly why it should be rehiring Foreign Service Officers who were working at USAID before it was illegally shuttered by the Trump administration,” said Senator Schatz. “Our bill removes impediments in the hiring process so that these patriotic Americans can get back to serving their country.”

This legislation establishes a formal Foreign Service career pathway that allows former USAID members to be appointed at a grade and tenure status commensurate with their prior rank by removing certain eligibility requirements, waiving the Foreign Service Officer Test, and providing preferences to applicants with prior USAID experience. The Secretary of State and Office of Personnel Management would oversee and execute this new process. The bill provides a smooth, non-redundant path for successful USAID employees to transition to the State Department’s Foreign Service, acknowledging that these individuals have already proven their capabilities and skill sets.

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) have endorsed Congresswoman Titus’s legislation.

“The Foreign Service professionals who spent careers delivering foreign assistance and humanitarian aid at USAID are exactly who the State Department needs, now that it's taken on that mission. The PATH to the Foreign Service Act clears the way, making it easier to bring those professionals in permanently, at the level their experience warrants. We're grateful to Congress for recognizing that expertise,” said AFSA President John Dinkelman.

Full bill text can be found here.

Background

Immediately after President Trump took office in 2025, he signed an executive order beginning the process of dismantling USAID. Since then, hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grants for critical global programs have been cancelled, while thousands of experienced, skilled development professionals have been fired. The New York Times found that a third of former USAID professionals are still unemployed, and less than half have found full-time employment.

Many USAID employees specialized in specific regions and issues. Their unique experiences are critical to informing the United States’s responses to humanitarian emergencies around the world. The PATH to the Foreign Service Act would ensure that these public servants have a pathway to employment and that the United States government does not have a “brain drain” of their knowledge and expertise, thereby protecting our national security and expanding our global influence.