There is mass confusion inside the U.S. Agency for International Development as the Trump administration threatens to close the agency that supports international aid programs, a move that Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, are pushing back against.
Billionaire Elon Musk has been tasked with cutting the fat in government agencies, but he is not a government employee or elected official. Critics have said that neither he nor President Donald Trump has the power to unilaterally close a congressionally established department like USAID.
Trump signed an executive order freezing foreign aid for 90 days, organizations have been issued stop-work orders and thousands of people have been laid off or furloughed.
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Shaheen said Tuesday that the funding that USAID is putting out is important to keeping Americans safe.
“One of the things that makes America strong is the fact that we have such strong allies and partners who help us if they feel like they can’t rely on the United States,” Shaheen said. “When we make a commitment to do something, then they’re going to look elsewhere. And I’ll tell you who’s ready to fill in that vacuum, and that’s China.”
Trump said Tuesday that he wants an investigation into “kickback” benefits that he alleges some people at USAID received.
