The White House has fired the inspector general of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Fox News has learned.
USAID Inspector General Paul Martin was fired Tuesday, though rather than coming from USAID acting administrator and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the firing reportedly came from the White House Office of Presidential Personnel.
The dismissal comes days after the USAID inspector general published a report that was critical of the Trump administration’s pause on aid.
It also comes a day after USAID warned that the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID had made it all but impossible to monitor $8.2 billion in humanitarian funds.
DESIGNATED TERRORISTS, EXTREMIST GROUPS RAKED IN MILLIONS FROM USAID, MULTIYEAR STUDY REVEALS
A United States Agency for International Development (USAID) flag in front of the agency’s offices in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
USAID is under fire from the Trump administration as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its chair, Elon Musk, investigate the agency’s spending practices and prepare to revamp and potentially shutter the agency.
The agency announced on its website Feb. 4, that nearly all personnel would be placed on leave by Friday, making a few exceptions for those in roles related to “mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.”
Its overseas missions reportedly had also been told to shut down.
USAID EMPLOYEE SAYS STAFFERS HID PRIDE FLAGS, ‘INCRIMINATING’ BOOKS WHEN DOGE ARRIVED
The Trump administration fired USAID’s inspector general on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File/Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Lawmakers, news outlets and think tanks have dug into past reports related to USAID spending amid the apparent dismantling of the agency, finding countless examples of money channeled to questionable organizations or programs, such as creating a version of “Sesame Street” in Iraq, or funding pottery classes in Morocco.
This week, it was discovered that USAID provided millions of dollars in funding to extremist groups tied to designated terrorist organizations and their allies, according to a report published by Middle East Forum, a U.S. think tank.
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USAID was established in 1961 under the Kennedy administration, operating as an independent agency that works closely with the State Department to allocate civilian foreign aid.
Under Rubio, the agency could be abolished after its reorganization over the coming days, he said in a letter to bipartisan lawmakers on Feb. 3.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
