The Trump administration plans to merge the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with the State Department, says a media report.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters he was the acting head of the USAID, the agency that distributes billions of dollars in aid around the world, the BBC reported.
Democratic lawmakers have slammed the move “illegal, unconstitutional” that would hurt poor people abroad, harm national security and reduce US influence on the global stage.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump alleged the agency run by “radical left lunatics” was getting away with “tremendous fraud”, but did not provide names or details.
USAID was established in 1961 by President John F Kennedy and has around 10,000 employees and a budget of nearly $40bn (£32.25bn), out of a total of $68bn in US government foreign aid spending.
Secretary Rubio said that a lot of functions of the organisation “are going to continue”.
“They’re going to be part of American foreign policy, but it has to be aligned with American foreign policy,” he told reporters in El Salvador.
The announcement follows comments from Musk, who heads an unofficial cost-cutting agency, which the administration plans to shut USAID down.
Over the weekend, two top security officials were placed on leave and the agency’s website went dark.
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