President Donald Trump set off a firestorm among Democrats when the USAID website suddenly went offline on Friday as he reportedly eyes moving the agency under State Department control.
Some even believe that the president wants to eliminate the organization altogether, a decision that is already being celebrated by opponents of massive U.S. foreign aid.
Former CBS News reporter Lara Logan was in favor of the president’s decision and warned that USAID was a CIA front.
“Like I said before, USAID is a front for the CIA. And together with NGO’s like the Open Society Foundation, they have been using US tax dollars & govt resources as their personal piggy bank. It has been infuriating to watch. Hopefully now the whole truth will come out,” she said on X.
“Abolish USAID and all foreign aid,” Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul said in response to an X post by Senate Minority Leader and New York Sen. Charles Schumer, one of many Democrats angry about the president’s reported move.
“Trump’s been purging and intimidating USAID employees. Now there’s a rumor he’ll dissolve USAID as an independent agency. It was created by JFK and established in law to further our national security and spread hope. This’d be illegal and against our national interests,” the Senate Minority Leader said.
But not many were as apoplectic as Democrat Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut.
“Let me explain why the total destruction of USAID – happening as we speak – matters so much. China – where Musk makes his money – wants USAID destroyed. So does Russia. Trump and Musk are doing the bidding of Beijing and Moscow. Why?” he claimed without basis on X.
“Over the last week, 50% of the Global Health Bureau and 60% of the Humanitarian Assistance Bureau have been fired. Aid programs everywhere have been closed. The U.S. is in full retreat from the world. Dystopian. No good reason for it,” he said in what could objectively be called a meltdown.
“The immediate consequences of this are cataclysmic. Malnourished babies who depend on U.S. aid will die. Anti-terrorism programs will shut down, and our most deadly enemies will get stronger. Diseases that threaten the U.S. will go unabated and reach our shores faster,” Murphy added.
“And China will fill the void. As developing countries will now ONLY be able to rely on China for help, they will cut more deals with Beijing to give them control of ports, critical mineral deposits, etc. U.S. power will shrink. U.S. jobs will be lost,” the senator said.
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“But Trump isn’t satisfied just to close programs and fire staff. He is now planning to ELIMINATE THE ENTIRE AGENCY. Maybe this weekend. a. That would be illegal. He cannot unilaterally close a federal agency. Another assault on the Constitution. b. Another gift to China!” he said.
“But why? Why hand a victory to terrorists and China and Russia? Why kill babies intentionally? Who benefits when Trump is so soft on our enemies? Maybe billionaires like Musk who make $ in China? Maybe someone buying all that secret Trump meme coin? It all feels so corrupt,” Murphy droned on.
But as Sens. Schumer and Murphy and other Democrats claim that the president does not have the power to eliminate the agency by executive order, the fact is it was created by executive order of the late former President John F. Kennedy.
“President John F. Kennedy created USAID at the height of the Cold War to counter Soviet influence. Congress passed the Foreign Assistance Act in 1961, and Kennedy signed that law and an executive order establishing USAID as an independent agency,” CNN reported.
While abolishing the Foreign Assistance Act would take an act of Congress, eliminating USAID or moving it under the umbrella of the State Department would not.
“Live by executive order, die by executive order,” Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk said on Saturday.