The White House dismissed Paul Martin, the inspector general of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), on Tuesday, according to U.S. officials. No official reason was provided for his removal. This comes a day after Martin’s office released a report warning that the Trump administration’s actions, including freezing foreign aid and cutting USAID staff, had severely hampered oversight of $8.2 billion in humanitarian funds. The report stated that these restrictions left USAID largely unable to ensure aid did not fall into the hands of extremist groups or become misused in conflict zones.
The Trump administration previously removed over a dozen inspectors general, and USAID has been significantly affected by the administration’s policies. The president and his ally, Elon Musk, claim USAID’s operations do not align with Trump’s agenda. Additionally, USAID partners and contractors have filed a lawsuit, arguing that the administration’s dismantling of the agency has resulted in unpaid bills totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, alleges that the administration’s abrupt funding freeze has led to mass layoffs among U.S. businesses working with USAID. One major contractor, Chemonics International, reported 750 furloughs and over $103 million in unpaid invoices. The funding freeze has also disrupted the supply of essential goods such as food and medication, potentially causing 566,000 deaths due to shortages in HIV/AIDS and malaria treatments.
A coalition of 170 small U.S. businesses, major suppliers, and humanitarian organizations, including the American Bar Association and HIAS, has joined the lawsuit. They argue that the administration unlawfully terminated contracts without the required notice or back payments. Federal employee associations have also filed lawsuits, temporarily blocking efforts to remove thousands of USAID staff.
Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers from farm states have introduced a bill to transfer USAID’s Food for Peace program to the Department of Agriculture. Farmers have been impacted by the aid freeze, and Kansas Senator Jerry Moran thanked Secretary of State Marco Rubio for intervening to release $560 million worth of U.S.-grown food aid that had been stuck in ports due to the funding freeze.
