The Trump administration moved swiftly Monday to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), putting hundreds of employees on leave and terminating contracts after tech billionaire Elon Musk said he was in the process of shutting down the agency that oversees foreign aid.
Musk claimed on social media early Monday morning that he ran the extraordinary move by President Donald Trump and had his full backing. It raised immediate objections from Democrats who argued Trump lacks the constitutional authority to eliminate USAID, which was established by Congress as an independent agency in 1998.
The White House said 606 USAID employees had been put on administrative leave and 791 personal service contracts were terminated for a projected savings of $128 million. Foreign aid will be recalibrated to focus only on “lower-income countries,” a White House official said.
Trump discussed the moves with reporters in the Oval Office. “I love the concept,” he said of USAID, “but they turned out to be radical left lunatics. The concept of it is good but it’s all about the people.” He disagreed that an act of Congress is required to do away with USAID.
“I don’t think so. Not when it comes to fraud,” Trump said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters in El Salvador, said he is the new acting director of USAID and has delegated the day-to-day responsibilities to another State Department official, Pete Marocco. Rubio said some USAID functions will continue but it must be aligned with U.S. foreign policy and interests.