Rubio says he's acting director of USAID as Trump, Musk move to shut agency down
WASHINGTON – 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.
"USAID has sort of a history of just ignoring that and deciding that somehow they're a global charity separate from the national interests," Rubio said.
In a letter to Congress on Monday, Rubio said he had ordered a "review and potential reorganization of USAID's activities to maximize efficiency and align operations with national interest." The State Department would consult with Congress to "reorganize and absorb" parts of the agency, according to the letter.
The Trump administration does not have congressional approval to close the agency that administers foreign assistance, and the effort received aggressive pushback from Democratic lawmakers. Musk leads Trump's newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in what the White House confirmed Monday was an official government position, not on a voluntary role as originally purported.
With a designation of "special government employee," Musk has received a government email address and an office but is not getting paid, the White House said.
More: Trump makes DOGE head Elon Musk a special government employee
Musk discussed eliminating USAID during an hourlong audio-only event Monday shortly after midnight on his social media site X. He said he went over the plan with Trump "in detail" and the U.S. president "agreed that we should shut it down" before he shared it publicly.
USAID staff received an email Monday morning notifying them the agency's Washington headquarters would be closed.
"Agency personnel normally assigned to work at USAID headquarters will work remotely … with the exception of personnel with essential on-site and building maintenance functions individually contacted by senior leadership," reads the email, obtained by USA TODAY, notifying USAID staff of the closed office.
It's the latest attempt at what critics condemn as a power grab by Musk and his aides at federal agencies. Trump, who took office two weeks ago, has tasked Musk, the world's richest man, with recommending federal cost-cutting through the panel that reports to the White House.
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On Monday, Musk called USAID “beyond repair” and “hopeless.” In a post on X, Musk added that he had “spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper. Could (have) gone to some great parties. Did that instead.”
Dems call USAID takedown a 'constitutional crisis'
At a news conference outside the shuttered USAID office on Monday afternoon, Democratic lawmakers joined some protesters outside the building to condemn the shutdown, calling it a gift to America's adversaries, including China and Russia.
"This is a constitutional crisis that we are in today," said Sen. Chris Murphy, of Connecticut. "The people get to decide how we defend the United States of America. The people get to decide how their taxpayer money is spent. Elon Musk does not get to decide."
Rep. Jamie Raskin, of Maryland, said claims that the Trump administration needed to evaluate the agency's efficiency were just a cover for Musk's true goal – "Termination and obliteration of the major foreign aid programs of the United States of America."
"We're not going to allow this to happen," he added.
The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee said in a post Monday morning that neither Trump nor Musk had the authority to shut down USAID, an independent agency established by Congress.
"Not a single person in the Executive Branch – not Donald Trump, not Elon Musk, and not any of their cronies – has the authority to shut down USAID. Congress created the agency by statute," Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., said in an X post. "We ask a lot of our civil servants. Today, we ask of them another task ? show up to work. Continue to serve."
Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced Monday that he would put a "hold" on all State Department nominees until USAID is reinstated.
It takes all 100 senators to agree to speed up the process of considering nominees, so any single senator can slow it down.
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What is USAID? Staffers put on leave
USAID was first created in 1961 under an executive order signed by President John F. Kennedy. In 1998, Congress passed the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act, which formalized USAID as an independent agency.
The foreign aid agency, the world's largest of its kind, has for decades assisted in countries whose residents are recovering from disaster or who are trying to escape poverty.
In fiscal year 2023, USAID disbursed $72 billion in assistance worldwide, Reuters reported. The funding went to everything from women's health in conflict zones to access to clean water, HIV/AIDS treatments, energy security and anti-corruption work.
USAID had a staff of more than 10,000 people.
Sitting outside the USAID office earlier Monday, a lone woman held a sign reading, "USAID saves, Musk destroys." The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she worked at an implementation partner of USAID until she was furloughed on Friday.
"This is a coup, and I don't know when America is going to wake up to that fact," she said.
The woman said she and other employees who worked for or with USAID now fear they will be targeted.
"I'm terrified. I think everyone in the D.C. area is terrified. But what else is there to do besides stand up?" she said.
Musk's latest comments about USAID come after Reuters reported the Trump administration removed two top security officials after they tried to stop representatives from Musk's DOGE from gaining access to restricted parts of the building. The officials also refused to hand over classified documents, Reuters reported.
Trump said Monday, “He’s got access only to letting people go that he thinks are no good if we agree with him. And it’s only if we agree with him."
“Elon can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval, and we’ll give him the approval where appropriate," Trump said.
On Monday morning, the agency's website appeared to be inactive.
USAID: Dozens more staff ousted as Trump administration dismantles aid agency
Democrats push back
Democratic lawmakers have protested the move, objecting to both a private citizen like Musk being given such broad powers and claiming that Trump lacks constitutional authority to shut down USAID without congressional approval.
"No one elected Elon Musk. As Donald Trump allows Musk to access people’s personal information and shut down government funding, Republicans in Washington will also own the consequences," Sen Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, said on X. "We must do everything in our power to push back and protect people from harm."
On Sunday, 10 Democratic senators warned Rubio in a letter that any steps to dismantle USAID would need congressional approval.
Trump, Musk embark on federal cost-cutting operation
The apparent shutdown of USAID comes as Trump has ordered a global freeze on most U.S. foreign aid as part of his "America First" policy. Trump administration officials had also discussed bringing USAID under the control of the State Department.
Since taking office Jan. 20, Trump has made it a cornerstone of his administration to overhaul and downsize the federal government by firing and sidelining hundreds of civil servants. As part of that effort, Musk's team has been given access to or has taken control of numerous government systems.
Late Friday, Musk and his DOGE gained access to the Treasury payment system, as first reported by the New York Times – giving him a powerful tool to monitor and potentially cut government spending. The system sends out more than $6 trillion per year in payments on behalf of federal agencies and contains the personal information of millions of Americans who receive things such as Social Security payments and tax refunds.
Asked Sunday if Musk was doing a good job, Trump agreed.
"He's a big cost-cutter. Sometimes we won't agree with it and we'll not go where he wants to go," Trump said, according to Reuters. "But I think he's doing a great job. He's a smart guy. Very smart. And he's very much into cutting the budget of our federal budget."
Contributing: Reuters
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elon Musk says he President Trump are shutting down USAID