In his book, self-described USAID 'whistleblower' talks about the agency and Ebola

Nicholas Enrich worked for the United States Agency for International Development under four administrations and was dismissed after leaking memos detailing plans to shut it down. He writes about the end of USAID — and his role in the response to a 2025 Ebola outbreak — in his new book, Into the Woodchipper: A Whistleblower's Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID. Simon & Schuster hide caption

In March 2025, Nicholas Enrich was the top U.S. official for global health when two major events were happening at the same time: The Trump administration was dismantling USAID, and an Ebola outbreak was spreading in Uganda.

It was Enrich's job to manage the U.S. response. He says he was stymied at every turn.

"I was told by one of the political appointees, who was the head of the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, that Ebola is a scam," Enrich says.

A year later, as the worst Ebola outbreak in more than a decade spreads in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Enrich has published a timely book with a title drawn from Elon Musk's plans for the premier U.S. foreign aid agency: Into the Woodchipper: A Whistleblower's Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID.

It's written from the perspective of a civil servant who served at the premier U.S. foreign aid agency under four administrations –- until he was put on leave and then dismissed after leaking memos about plans to dismantle the agency.

In an interview with NPR , Enrich talked about his view of the agency and his perspective on the current Ebola outbreak in a world where USAID no longer exists.

Let's start with a controversial question. The administration gave various rationales to justify the sunsetting of USAID –- accusations of political bias, waste, fraud and abuse. Did you agree with any of their points?