The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) notified dozens of applicants for foreign service jobs last month that the positions had been closed, a spokesman for the agency confirmed on Saturday.

The cancellations, reported by the international development news website Devex this week, hit 97 applicants who were already going through the agency's pre-employment process.

Many had already sat through interviews, obtained medical clearances and turned in security paperwork, and some had waited two years for the jobs, according to Devex.

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“Thank you for your interest in a position with US Agency for International Development (USAID)," a letter sent to applicants reads. "We appreciate the time and effort you committed to pursuing a career with USAID throughout the Agency’s multi‐step application process."

“After careful deliberation, the Human Capital and Talent Management (HCTM) has determined that given the current staffing needs of the Agency the position you have applied for has been cancelled.”

Devex obtained a copy of the letter informing applicants of the cancellations.

Clayton McCleskey, a USAID spokesman, told the news site that the cancellations were due to a hiring freeze imposed by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Rex Wayne TillersonGary Cohn: 'I haven't made up my mind' on vote for president in November Kushner says 'Alice in Wonderland' describes Trump presidency: Woodward book Conspicuous by their absence from the Republican Convention MORE earlier this year. That hiring freeze is part of a larger effort by Tillerson to increase efficiency within the State Department.

At the same time, the Trump administration has proposed a roughly 30 percent budget cut for the State Department and USAID.