In an effort to learn more about Elon Musk’s late-night call to shut down the organisation in charge of providing international humanitarian aid, American Oversight submitted more than a dozen FOIA requests.
Trump’s shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) prompted American Oversight to open a probe on Tuesday, requesting any correspondence that would provide insight into the agency’s dissolution attempts.
In addition to seeking to find any correspondence between USAID officials and the White House, Congress, or Secretary of State Marco Rubio—who was just named as USAID’s interim caretaker—the group submitted 14 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
Politico said on January 31 that the Trump administration is thinking of closing USAID and integrating it into the State Department, a week after freezing almost all U.S. foreign aid programs. Elon Musk, a billionaire Trump supporter, declared two days later that USAID should “die.” Without any discernible significant congressional consultation, these moves were publicised in the middle of the night.
“President Trump has given an unelected billionaire the authority to carry out a vicious assault on an organisation that employs 10,000 committed employees and offers life-saving services globally, such as food aid and medical care for those in dire need. American Oversight Interim Executive Director Chioma Chukwu stated, “His actions not only exacerbate suffering and undermine U.S. leadership globally, but they also expose the depths of his administration’s disregard for human lives.” “American Oversight is dedicated to revealing the terrible harm his administration’s actions are causing to the American people as well as the corrupt motivations behind the president’s desperate, lawless executive power grab.”
In order to hear directly from those allegedly in charge of dismantling USAID, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs is requesting a meeting with Rubio and Peter Marocco, the director of foreign assistance for the State Department.
