Musk's DOGE takes aim at 'viper's nest' federal agency with global footprint

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, is taking purpose astatine the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and, according to elder legislature sources, moved to prehend power of the autarkic bureau implicit the weekend.

The elder legislature sources told Fox News that much than 50 elder USAID unit members were placed connected administrative permission and subjected to a gag order, meaning they were not allowed to pass with anyone extracurricular the bureau without approval.

Signs were besides removed from USAID’s office successful the Ronald Reagan Building successful Washington, D.C., and the DOGE squad took implicit the machine systems, the sources said. USAID is liable for distributing civilian overseas assistance and improvement assistance to countries astir the globe. The bureau managed astir $40 cardinal successful appropriations past year, according to the Congressional Research Service.

On Sunday, the Associated Press reported that the Trump medication placed 2 apical information chiefs astatine USAID connected permission aft refusing to crook implicit classified worldly successful restricted areas to DOGE.

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The U.S. Agency of International Development emblem flies successful beforehand of the agency's office gathering successful Washington.

After initially being refused entree to USAID’s classified information, DOGE yet gained that entree connected Saturday, allowing them to spot things similar quality reports, a existent and a erstwhile U.S. authoritative told the AP.

The DOGE squad members lacked precocious capable information clearance to entree the information, truthful the 2 USAID information officials – John Voorhees and lawman Brian McGill – believed they were legally obligated to contradict access.

On Sunday, Musk took purpose astatine USAID connected his societal media level X, saying, "USAID is simply a transgression organization. Time for it to die."

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He besides wrote respective different posts astir the agency, saying things like, "USAID was a viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists who hatred America" and "USAID is evil."

The second was successful effect to a station suggesting USAID helped money coronavirus probe successful Wuhan, China, which referred to an enactment posted connected Forbes betwixt Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and present erstwhile USAID Administrator Samantha Power successful April 2023.

ABC News reported that those acquainted with USAID were questioning whether the moves astatine USAID were being made successful an effort to determination the bureau nether the State Department, wherever determination could beryllium amended accountability.

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Elon Musk jumps connected signifier arsenic helium joins erstwhile President Donald Trump during a run rally successful Butler, Pa. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images/File)

Last week, astatine slightest 56 USAID officials were placed connected administrative permission with afloat wage and benefits, and respective 100 contractors based successful Washington and elsewhere were laid off.

The actions came aft Secretary of State Marco Rubio, acting connected Trump's enforcement order, paused each U.S. overseas assistance funded by oregon done the State Department and USAID.

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The 90-day intermission has halted thousands of U.S.-funded humanitarian, improvement and information programs worldwide and forced assistance organizations to laic disconnected hundreds of employees due to the fact that they can't marque payroll.

Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo and The Associated Press contributed to this report.