Agency for International Development. They were blocked by officers from even broaching the lobby, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was the acting administrator of the agency despite it being an independent body for six decades. While Trump has spent the first three weeks of his new presidency making broad changes to the federal government , the fast-moving developments at USAID have emerged as a particularly controversial flashpoint with Democrats who argue it symbolizes the massive power Musk is wielding over Washington.
In the space of a few weeks, in fact, much of the agency was dismantled β work and spending ordered stopped, leadership and staff gutted by furloughs, firings and disciplinary leaves, and the website taken offline. Chris Murphy said. Showing the extraordinary power of Musk and his budget-slashing Department of Government Efficiency , thousands of USAID employees have been laid off and programs shut down around the world in the two weeks since Trump became president and imposed a sweeping freeze on foreign assistance.
The U. Trump, Musk and Republicans in Congress have made the U. Trump accused the Biden administration of fraud, without giving any evidence and only promising a report later on.
Lawmakers sought to enter USAID offices in Washington, saying they wanted to speak to any staffers remaining about the dismantling of the agency.
Musk announced the closing of the agency early Monday as Rubio was out of the country on a trip to Central America. Rubio told reporters in San Salvador that he was now the acting administrator of USAID but had delegated his authority to someone else.
