Musk Makes Bold Moves Targeting US Aid Agency

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio (Republican-Fla) has granted wide-ranging powers to a top USAID official, prompting fears of upheaval inside the organization and raising alarms from Democrats as Congress weighs efforts by President Donald Trump’s allies, spearheaded by billionaire tech tycoon Elon Musk, to effectively dismantle the Agency.

Peter Marocco, Director of foreign assistance at State, has assumed oversight responsibilities for the roughly $40 billion USA-ID.

Two officials familiar with the agency confirmed USAID’s inner workings explained how Marocco now directs USAid’s workforce, impacting how projects or programs are staffed.

Marocco has previously angered those within the USAID, trying in 2016 (during President Trump’s previous term) to centralize power with dramatic budget cuts prompting dissent emails warning of its adverse effects . It ultimately caused officials to draft documents outlining reasons they opposed that initiative, documents made public for first time when reached out BY NBC

Adding to his broad authority , Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, senate Majority Leader in February 2025 confirmed Musk ‘s appointment overseeing Department of defense computer systems related to projects financed by both Department of treasury funding and Foreign assistance programs which involve USAID.