The inspector general for the U.S. Agency for International Development was fired on Tuesday – one day after his office issued a critical report warning that nearly $500 million in food was about to go bad due to President Donald Trump’s freeze on the agency.
Organizations that represent USAID workers, companies that contract with USAID, and non-profits have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration, asserting that it does not have the authority to axe the funding that was expressly provided by Congress.
Report from inspector general’s office criticized Trump administration’s attempt to drastically cut USAID.
Paul Martin, who had been appointed inspector general for the agency by former president Joe Biden in 2023, was informed by email from the Office of Presidential Personnel that his position was terminated “effective immediately.”.
After Musk asserted that USAID was “radical” and a “criminal organization,” the administration sought to all but formally dissolve the agency and merge it with the State Department to be overseen by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
