President Donald Trump named Secretary of State Marco Rubio the acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development on Monday, as Elon Musk declares war on the independent agency.
Confirming the news, Rubio said he has delegated the role to someone he knows closely without naming the person. The previous acting USAID administrator had been Jason Gray.
“As we evaluate USAID and ensure it is in alignment with an America First agenda and the efforts of the State Department, we will continue to protect the American people’s interests and ensure their tax dollars are not wasted,” the State Department said in a statement announcing the temporary appointment.
Hours earlier, USAID instructed staffers not to show up for work on Monday after Musk announced he’ll use his post as the head of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency to shut down the agency, a cost-cutting measure the tech billionaire says Trump supports.
Musk has been battling the aid agency in recent days, pursuing measures to enact Trump’s sweeping changes to the federal government.
“It became apparent that it’s not an apple with a worm it in,” Musk said of USAID on X Spaces early Monday morning. “What we have is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It’s beyond repair.”
“We’re shutting it down,” he added.
Musk’s remarks come two days after the Trump administration placed on leave two USAID security officials, who tried to stop Musk’s DOGE from gaining access to classified materials in restricted areas within the agency. Also taking place over the weekend, USAID’s website went offline without explanation.
On Monday, USAID employees were greeted with a message telling them to stay out of the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., until further notice, the Associated Press first reported. Instead of going into the office, they were instructed to work from home. Additionally, more than 600 staffers were locked out of the agency’s computer systems overnight.
Established in 1961, USAID oversees humanitarian, development, and security programs in over 100 foreign countries. In fiscal year 2023, it spent about $38.1 billion on foreign assistance programs specializing in disaster relief and health services, among other areas.
Because USAID receives foreign policy guidance from the State Department, the agency will reportedly fold into the department if the administration has its way.
During his first week back in office, Trump placed a 90-day freeze on most foreign aid via an executive order. Rubio implemented the pause, partially exempting assistance to Ukraine amid its war with Russia. While the military aid is largely unaffected, the freeze has forced many U.S.-funded humanitarian organizations in Ukraine to stop working.
When asked for comment on USAID on Sunday, Trump told reporters, “It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics. And we’re getting them out.”
While Republicans are on board with Trump’s agenda, Democrats are pushing back. In a Sunday letter to Rubio, Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D., N.H.) and other Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee asked the secretary of state to provide an explanation for the administration’s crackdown on USAID.
“Congress established the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as an independent agency, separate from the Department of State, to ensure that we can deploy development expertise and U.S. foreign assistance quickly, particularly in times of crisis, to meet our national security goals,” the lawmakers wrote.
“For this reason, any effort to merge or fold USAID into the Department of State should be, and by law must be, previewed, discussed, and approved by Congress.”
Rubio said USAID must be “aligned with American foreign policy,” that is Trump’s “America First” policy, if it is to continue operating. The former senator noted the agency had not cooperated with his congressional requests on how it spends taxpayer dollars.
“It’s a completely unresponsive agency. It’s supposed to respond to policy directives with the State Department, and it refuses to do so,” Rubio told reporters on a visit to El Salvador. “Every dollar we spend and every program we fund, that program will be aligned with the national interest of the United States. USAID has a history of sort of ignoring that.”