Trump appoints Rubio as acting director of USAID after humanitarian agency taken over by State Department

The news came hours after American tech billionaire Elon Musk charged with overhauling the federal government, said President Donald Trump had signed off on shutting the agency down. Democrats say that it is not legal for the president to shutter a federal agency without consulting Congress.

https://x.com/StateDept/status/1886512412863684802

The US State Department shared a post on X, stating that a review of USAID foreign assistance activities is underway, with the possibility of reorganization.

This move is aimed at ensuring USAID's activities align with the core national interests of the United States and the "America First" agenda.

According to the Department of State, USAID has strayed from its original mission of advancing American interests abroad, with significant portions of its funding not aligned with US national interests. To address this, President Donald Trump has appointed Secretary Marco Rubio as Acting Administrator of USAID.

"The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has long strayed from its original mission of responsibly advancing American interests abroad, and it is now abundantly clear that significant portions of USAID funding are not aligned with the core national interests of the United States," US State Department wrote on X.

"As an interim step toward gaining control and better understanding over the agency's activity, President Donald Trump appointed Secretary Marco Rubio as Acting Administrator. Secretary Rubio has also now notified Congress that a review of USAID's foreign assistance activities is underway with an eye towards potential reorganization," it added.

Further the post said, "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,"

In a post on X, Musk wrote, "USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die."

He made the statement in response to a post which mentioned that USAID senior officials were put on leave after they physically tried to stop Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) officials from accessing agency systems

Musk's statement comes amid mounting reports that US President Donald Trump wants to abolish USAID, an independent federal agency, and fold it into the US State Department, CNN reported. Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy at the White House, Stephen Miller, has accused USAID's workforce of being overwhelmingly Democrats.

Two top senior officials at the USAID were put on administrative leave on Saturday night after trying to refuse officials from DOGA to access systems at the agency, even after DOGE officials threatened to call law enforcement, CNN reported, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter.

Sources said personnel from DOGE tried to physically access the USAID headquarters in Washington, DC. However, they were stopped from accessing the system. Two of the sources said that the DOGE officials demanded to be allowed in and threatened to call US Marshals to be allowed access, CNN reported. (ANI)