Nearly 60 senior officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development have been put on leave Monday after actions to “circumvent” President Trump’s executive orders were discovered.

An internal notice sent by new acting administrator Jason Gray said he identified “several actions within USAID that appear to be designed to circumvent the President’s Executive Orders and the mandate from the American people.”

“As a result, we have placed a number of USAID employees on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice while we complete our analysis of these actions,” Mr. Gray wrote.

It was not clear which executive orders the employees were suspected of trying to circumvent. 

This comes after Mr. Trump’s executive order last week that put a pause on nearly all U.S. foreign aid for 90 days, an order that Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent to U.S. embassies worldwide on Friday. It exempted emergency food programs and military assistance to Israel and Egypt.

A former USAID official told The Associated Press that the employees laid off had been through multiple administrations, including the first Trump administration.

Before they were told they were being put on leave they were actively trying to find ways to help various aid organizations deal with the funding freeze, the official said.

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.