More USAID staff ousted after Trump administration dismantles aid agency

The Trump administration removed two top security officials at USAID during the weekend after they tried to stop representatives from billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from gaining access to restricted parts of the building, three sources said on Sunday.

The action added to the dozens of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) staff being removed from their positions, as President Donald Trump's team moves to abolish the agency's independence and possibly bring it under the control of the State Department.

Nearly 30 career staff in the agency's Legislative and Public Affairs bureau lost access overnight to their emails, at least five sources said, bringing the total number of senior USAID career staff who have been put on leave over the past week close to 100.

"DOGE did access the building yesterday," a senior Senate Democratic aide said, requesting anonymity to discuss the incident. USAID security officers tried to turn away DOGE personnel without security clearances.

"They (security personnel) were threatened with action by the federal Marshals Service," the aide said. Following the incident, the director of USAID security, John Voorhees, and his deputy were removed from their positions and put on leave, sources said.

Trump on Sunday said the agency has "been run by a bunch of radical lunatics, and we're getting them out."

"We're getting them out, and then we'll make a decision," he told reporters.

Week of mayhem

The purge follows more than a week of mayhem inside USAID, Washington's primary agency funding billions of dollars' worth of life-saving aid globally. Trump ordered a freeze on almost all U.S. foreign aid, saying his administration will review spending to ensure money is distributed in line with his "America First" foreign policy.

Katie Miller, a DOGE spokesperson, said on social media platform X that no classified material was accessed without proper security clearances.

Matt Hopson, who had just been appointed as USAID chief of staff by the Trump administration, has resigned, five sources familiar with the matter said. A congressional source said his resignation followed the incident with DOGE officials. USAID did not respond to a request for comment about Hopson.

The global freeze on most of U.S. foreign aid is already sending shockwaves around the world. Field hospitals in Thai refugee camps, landmine clearance in war zones, and drugs to treat millions suffering from diseases such as HIV are among the programs at risk of elimination.

Meanwhile, billionaire Trump ally Musk on Sunday continued to slam USAID in his posts and reposts on his X social network. Trump has assigned Musk to lead a federal cost-cutting panel with broad oversight powers. Officials from DOGE have made frequent visits to USAID headquarters in Washington, according to sources familiar with the matter.

On Sunday, Musk accused USAID of being "a criminal organization" without providing any evidence and added "Time for it to die".