Trump accuses USAID of being 'corrupt'; implies the agency's days are numbered
President Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday that he will be winding down the U.S. Agency for International Development, saying the humanitarian agency “had to be corrupt” to approve certain initiatives.
Trump's comments came a day after the White House said more than 600 USAID employees had been put on administrative leave and more than 700 personal service contracts had been terminated, prompting Democrats to question the legality of the actions.
On Monday, the White House released what it called a list of “pet projects of entrenched bureaucrats” approved by USAID. The list, which the White House described as “ridiculous” and “malicious," included items such as $1.5 million to "advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia's workplaces and business communities"; $70,000 for production of a "DEI musical" in Ireland; $47,000 for a "transgender opera" in Colombia; and $32,000 for a "transgender comic book" in Peru.
“It has to be corrupt. Nobody could approve that,” Trump said Tuesday as he signed a new batch of executive orders from the White House.
USAID, an independent government agency that distributes foreign aid, oversees around $40 billion a year in spending and was created in 1961. In fiscal year 2023, USAID funding went to everything from women's health in conflict zones to clean water, HIV/AIDS treatments, energy security and anti-corruption work, according to Reuters.
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As of Monday morning, the government website was unavailable, but the archived website states the agency's mission is to "promote and demonstrate democratic values abroad, and advance a free, peaceful, and prosperous world."
One of Trump’s closest advisors, billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, who runs the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, disclosed Monday that he and Trump were planning to shut down the agency. Musk has been tasked with helping to slim down the federal bureaucracy.
USAID has been in turmoil as the Trump administration considers folding it into the State Department. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been the agency's acting head since Monday, and Trump said he could see him running it in the long term. The agency had a staff of more than 10,000 people.
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee said in a post on X that neither Musk nor Trump had the authority to shut down USAID. He said the Executive Branch cannot dismantle an agency Congress created by statute.
"We ask a lot of our civil servants," he wrote. "Today, we ask of them another task ? show up to work. Continue to serve."
(This article has been updated to add more information.)
Contributing: Kinsey Crowley; Reuters
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House Correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump says he will wind down USAID