A Chronicle of the Trump Administration's Conflict with USAID
Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2025 3:22 am
Photo - © screenshot
US foreign aid programs were frozen for 90 days in late January , shortly after Donald Trump's inauguration, in order to review those programs.
On February 1 , the USAID website and the agency's account on the X network were shut down without explanation .
The next day, the head of the US Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE) and owner of X, Elon Musk, announced that USAID had funded bioweapons research.
“Did you know that USAID, using YOUR tax dollars, funded el salvador mobile database bioweapons research, including COVID-19, which has killed millions of people?” the businessman wrote on his social network.
The next day, Musk announced plans to completely liquidate USAID, saying the agency could not be restored.
"This is not a wormy apple, but just a lump of worms... There is no apple, so you need to get rid of everything," the head of DOGE metaphorically described the situation.
At the same time, President Trump stated on the same day that a decision on the future of USAID had not yet been made.
“USAID is run by radical madmen, and we will remove them, and then we will make a decision,” the head of state said.
The next day, the new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented on the situation with the agency . According to him, there is no talk of closing USAID programs.
"There are initiatives that are really useful, and there are those that we have serious questions about. But the main problem is the work of the agency as a structure. It should follow the political directives of the State Department, but in practice it does not. They are completely unwilling to cooperate when they are asked questions," Rubio told reporters while on an official visit to Panama.
Rubio noted that the agency "thinks that it is a global organization and that its master is the world, not the United States." However, that is not what is written in the organization's charter, the secretary of state emphasized.
Soon, Donald Trump called on his social network Truth Social to close USAID because corruption in the agency was “at an unprecedented level.”
On February 12, a judge in the District of Columbia temporarily blocked Trump’s plan to recall USAID employees around the world and place them on administrative leave. According to U.S. media, the court’s decision prohibits U.S. authorities from placing about 2,200 USAID employees on administrative leave and removing them from the countries where they work until February 14 inclusive. In addition, the judge ordered the reinstatement of about 500 USAID employees who had already been temporarily suspended.
The decision comes as part of a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Overseas Civil Service Association (a union representing civil servants and a professional association for foreign service). The groups are seeking to declare the Trump administration's actions to fire USAID employees unconstitutional and illegal. As of 2023, there were more than 10,000 such employees. A hearing is scheduled for February 12.
US foreign aid programs were frozen for 90 days in late January , shortly after Donald Trump's inauguration, in order to review those programs.
On February 1 , the USAID website and the agency's account on the X network were shut down without explanation .
The next day, the head of the US Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE) and owner of X, Elon Musk, announced that USAID had funded bioweapons research.
“Did you know that USAID, using YOUR tax dollars, funded el salvador mobile database bioweapons research, including COVID-19, which has killed millions of people?” the businessman wrote on his social network.
The next day, Musk announced plans to completely liquidate USAID, saying the agency could not be restored.
"This is not a wormy apple, but just a lump of worms... There is no apple, so you need to get rid of everything," the head of DOGE metaphorically described the situation.
At the same time, President Trump stated on the same day that a decision on the future of USAID had not yet been made.
“USAID is run by radical madmen, and we will remove them, and then we will make a decision,” the head of state said.
The next day, the new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented on the situation with the agency . According to him, there is no talk of closing USAID programs.
"There are initiatives that are really useful, and there are those that we have serious questions about. But the main problem is the work of the agency as a structure. It should follow the political directives of the State Department, but in practice it does not. They are completely unwilling to cooperate when they are asked questions," Rubio told reporters while on an official visit to Panama.
Rubio noted that the agency "thinks that it is a global organization and that its master is the world, not the United States." However, that is not what is written in the organization's charter, the secretary of state emphasized.
Soon, Donald Trump called on his social network Truth Social to close USAID because corruption in the agency was “at an unprecedented level.”
On February 12, a judge in the District of Columbia temporarily blocked Trump’s plan to recall USAID employees around the world and place them on administrative leave. According to U.S. media, the court’s decision prohibits U.S. authorities from placing about 2,200 USAID employees on administrative leave and removing them from the countries where they work until February 14 inclusive. In addition, the judge ordered the reinstatement of about 500 USAID employees who had already been temporarily suspended.
The decision comes as part of a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Overseas Civil Service Association (a union representing civil servants and a professional association for foreign service). The groups are seeking to declare the Trump administration's actions to fire USAID employees unconstitutional and illegal. As of 2023, there were more than 10,000 such employees. A hearing is scheduled for February 12.