The top-to-bottom upheaval of USAID, which Trump has said is being run by “lunatics,” will be headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who announced Monday he was taking the reins of the agency.
Almost all foreign aid is suspended at the moment as the White House coordinates with the agency’s new leadership to determine which humanitarian programs are worth continued funding and which are deemed superfluous or even counter to U.S. interests.
“This isn’t my money. This is taxpayer money,” Rubio said at a press conference in Costa Rica on Tuesday. “We’re not gonna eliminate foreign aid, we’re gonna have foreign aid that makes sense […] We’re going to have foreign aid that furthers the national interest.”
ENDING PLUNDER AND GRIFT AT USAID
USAID, established by former President John F. Kennedy in 1961 via executive order, was conceived as a way of countering Soviet soft power abroad with humanitarian programs.
It oversaw over $40 billion of funding in 2023, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research. The White House wants a detailed account of where that money is going and why.
“The Department of State and other pertinent entities will be consulting with Congress and the appropriate committees to reorganize and absorb certain bureaus, offices, and missions of USAID,” Rubio said in his letter. “USAID may move, reorganize, and integrate certain missions, bureaus, and offices into the Department of State, and the remainder of the Agency may be abolished consistent with applicable law.”
Rubio has described the USAID establishment as “uncooperative” and accused personnel of acting in “rank insubordination,” demanding a firmer approach to get the agency under control. He is passing authority over the agency to Trump appointee Pete Marocco.
Rubio announced in a Monday letter that Marocco will “begin the process of engaging in a review and potential reorganization of USAID’s activities to maximize efficiency and align operations with the national interest.”
Approximately 600 personnel have been laid off from the agency beginning Sunday night, with an additional 1,400 individuals expected to be dismissed this week, a person familiar with the matter told Politico.
Trump’s 90-day freeze on USAID funding does not apply to programs in Israel and Egypt.
Elon Musk declared Monday that he is taking a prominent role in the agency’s restructuring after two senior officials restricted members of the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing its internal systems.
Those two officials have been placed on administrative leave, according to reports.
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Democratic lawmakers have lambasted the government’s attacks on USAID, staging a protest outside the agency’s headquarters Monday.
“Make no mistake, this effort by Elon Musk and so-called DOGE to shut down the International Agency for International Development is an absolute gift to our adversaries, to Russia, to China, to Iran, and others, because AID is an essential instrument of U.S. foreign policy and U.S. national security policy,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) on Monday morning.
