‘Coup’: Trump administration closes USAID headquarters

The closure, which comes after moves by Elon Musk’s DOGE to exert control over the foreign-aid organisation, raise questions about whether he’ll follow a similar blueprint to close other agencies.

The US Agency for International Development closed its headquarters to agency personnel on Monday (local time) after moves by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to exert control over the foreign-aid organisation.

An email to USAID personnel said that the move was taken by “Agency leadership.” The message said that replies should be directed to an email address that appears to be associated with Gavin Kliger, whose LinkedIn profile identifies him as a special adviser to the director of the Office of Personnel Management and who works for DOGE.

“At the direction of Agency leadership, the USAID headquarters at the Ronald Reagan building in Washington, D.C. will be closed to Agency personnel on Monday, February 3, 2025,” the email states.

Kliger and DOGE didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Monday in San Salvador, El Salvador, that he was troubled by reports that USAID officials were “unwilling to co-operate with people who are asking simple questions about: What does this program do? Who gets the money? Who are our contractors? Who’s funded?” Rubio is acting director of USAID, he said, and has delegated responsibility for the agency to someone he didn’t identify.

“There are a lot of functions of USAID that are going to continue to be part of American foreign policy, but it has to be aligned with American foreign policy,” he said.

Senator Chris Van Hollen and Congressman Jamie Raskin speak to reporters outside the USAID headquarters. Picture: Getty Images via AFP.

The agency’s personnel were instructed to work remotely except for officials with essential functions who have been directly contacted by senior leaders. The email indicates that employees will receive more instructions later.

The moves at USAID, an independent organisation codified into law, at the encouragement of the world’s richest man, raise questions about whether DOGE will follow a similar blueprint to close other agencies.

“It’s a coup,” said a current USAID official. It was unclear when, if ever, the agency would be up and running again, the official added.

Trump, during a Monday appearance in the Oval Office, said Musk “has 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.” The president added: “Elon can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval. We’ll give him the approval where appropriate; where not appropriate, we won’t. But he reports in and it’s something that he feels very strongly about.” Musk said earlier Monday that Trump agreed with him that USAID should be closed, telling a live audience on his social-media site, X, that he “went over it with him in detail and he agreed that we should shut it down.” During that same appearance, Musk said that the administration was closing the agency because “as we dug into USAID, it became apparent that what we have here is not an apple with a worm in it, but we have actually just a ball of worms.” He added” “There is no apple. And when there is no apple, you just got to basically get rid of the whole thing. That’s why it has to go. It’s beyond repair.” The move to shut down USAID, which was established in 1961 as the US government’s agency for carrying out foreign-assistance programs across the globe, came after Rubio froze most foreign aid as part of a 90-day review.

That step produced outcries from aid organisations that recipients would be denied vital assistance. Rubio issued another order Tuesday saying that the pause would exempt “core life saving programs” that involve medicine, medical services, food and shelter.

The immediate fate of other programs, which include those that support economic development, counterterrorist training, counternarcotics co-operation and efforts to strengthen the rule of law abroad, was left unclear. Aid organisations and officials have been told they can apply for waivers if they believe the freeze is harming US interests, prompting a flood of appeals.

Even before Kliger’s message, some contract personnel on Sunday were locked out of their email accounts. Those trying to log on received a notice in red: “Authentication Failed.” A USAID contractor said half of the workers on their team lost access to email.

Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Sunday night, Trump offered his support for Musk. The president said the DOGE head was “doing a good job” and was a “big cost-cutter,” adding that “radical lunatics” are running USAID.

Trump administration officials have been considering plans to merge the 10,000-person, $40 billion agency into the State Department, which would rein in its autonomy. Democratic lawmakers contend that such a step would be illegal without congressional approval, as USAID’s existence is in federal statute and would require an act of Congress to reorganise its operations or dissolve it entirely.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D., N.H.), the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s top Democrat, said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal that a bipartisan group of lawmakers would get together Monday and decide what steps to take after DOGE’s actions against USAID.

On Saturday, DOGE representatives sought access to classified systems at USAID’s building in downtown Washington.

Security officials at the agency initially resisted the DOGE representatives’ requests, which some people familiar with the confrontation say included demands for access to personnel information. The security officials, John Voorhees and his deputy, were then put on administrative leave for not complying, people familiar with the episode said.

DOGE officials eventually obtained access to some information, the people familiar with the confrontation added.

Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president, praised Musk’s actions against the aid agency in a social-media message on X on Monday.

“Smart move by @elonmusk, trying to plug USAID’s Deep Throat. Let’s hope notorious Deep State doesn’t swallow him whole,” wrote Medvedev, who is a close aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Samantha Power, who led the agency under then-President Joe Biden, gave a speech in December on the importance of the agency, how it was adapting and its role in US foreign policy. The agency’s website, with the link to the text of that speech, has since been taken down.

Dow Jones