The U.S. government's giant humanitarian agency USAID on Tuesday announced it was placing its staff in the United States and around the world on administrative leave as it moved to recall employees from overseas postings.

The agency said in a statement on its website — which reappeared Tuesday after going dark over the weekend — that the staff leave will begin shortly before midnight on Feb. 7.

The administrative leave will hit "all USAID direct hire personnel ... with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs."