Senior security staff at the US Agency for International Development were put on leave after refusing to allow Elon Musk’s DOGE team to access classified systems, people familiar with the matter said, as operations of the relief agency appeared largely paralyzed.
Senior security staff at the US Agency for International Development were put on leave after refusing to allow Elon Musk’s DOGE team to access classified systems, people familiar with the matter said, as operations of the relief agency appeared largely paralyzed.
The security officials contended that staff with Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency lacked the clearances required to see the information, making them legally obligated to deny access, according to the people. Asked Sunday about the situation, President Donald Trump said it’s been run “by a bunch of radical lunatics and we’re getting them out.” The broadsides from Trump and Musk—who called it a “criminal organization” earlier in the day—were the latest in a stunning series of attacks on USAID that left US-funded foreign assistance overseas all but paralyzed in recent days. It was also shaping up as a test of Trump’s power, with Musk in a supporting role, to hobble an agency that was codified by Congress in 1998. The agency’s website was taken offline over the weekend and last week, more than 50 senior officials at USAID’s Washington office—the majority of the agency’s senior career leadership—were recently put on administrative leave. A network error or blank page was encountered when attempting to access the site, usaid.gov, across various countries and devices. That came amid a barrage of tweets from Musk on Saturday and Sunday attacking USAID. At one point he accused it of funding bioweapon research “including Covid-19.” At another he said it was “a viper’s nest of radical-left marxists who hate America.” “It becomes a fundamental question of the constitution and the separation of powers,” said Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International and a former senior official at USAID. “What they seem to be attempting to do is assert by presidential fiat that DOGE can just shut down a federal agency. We’re in uncharted territory here.” The confrontation at USAID added to signs that Musk’s team of government efficiency enforcers have been gaining access to government systems. He said earlier that DOGE is shutting some down payments to federal contractors. He had also said the US Department of Health and Human Services was cutting payments to Lutheran Family Services, a faith-based charity that has been providing social services to refugees. “No classified material was accessed without proper security clearances,” Katie Miller, who Trump said in December was joining DOGE, wrote on X. The standoff was first reported by CNN. The fast-moving developments follow an executive order by Trump last month to halt and reevaluate US foreign aid. Billions of dollars in US assistance that are typically coordinated by the independent agency were frozen, and several senior officials suspended. That order left many aid recipients, especially across Africa and in Ukraine, scrambling. The agency provides support for everything from humanitarian projects to health initiatives to disaster relief. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has issued a waiver for certain “life-saving humanitarian assistance” as a three-month review is carried out to determine which of the thousands of US foreign aid projects align with Trump’s vision. But billions of dollars in aid remain halted. And agency staff are also battling a suspicion among Trump appointees and loyalists that USAID was secretly funding abortions even though it is barred from doing so.executive order to fold USAID into the State Department. Trump suggested Sunday that a decision about the agency’s future would be made later. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the attempted “total destruction” of USAID was “happening as we speak” but that Trump “cannot unilaterally close a federal agency.” The agency’s programs are also often built into key foreign policy priorities such as helping countries’ energy transition, competing with China on infrastructure projects, and countering Moscow’s and Beijing’s influence. Under the Biden administration, the US and its Group of Seven allies agreed on several initiatives to compete with China’s massive infrastructure program and clout seen everywhere from Asia and Africa to Latin America. The new administration sees foreign aid as charity and doesn’t consider how it serves US geopolitical interests, said a diplomat from a G-7 country who declined to be identified to discuss sensitive issues. Democratic lawmakers warned on the social network X, where USAID’s primary account also went dark over the weekend, that any move to eliminate the agency’s independence would be illegal, against US interests, and would benefit ChinaBy checking this box, you confirm that you have read and are agreeing to our terms of use regarding the storage of the data submitted through this form.
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