Press Releases

Today, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs, wrote a letter to Marco Rubio, Acting Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), requesting documents and information on the Trump-Musk effort to freeze foreign aid and purge USAID.  

In their letter, the Ranking Members urged the Administration to revoke the January 20, 2025, Executive Order titled “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,” and restore the functions, leadership, and employees of USAID.  

“We write to condemn the Administration’s freeze of federal foreign aid and the ongoing effort to eliminate the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).   The Trump Administration is attempting to purge USAID with the intent to eliminate the agency without Congressional authorization,” wrote the Ranking Members.  “USAID was created by statute and cannot be eliminated by executive fiat.  We urge the Administration to revoke immediately the January 20, 2025, Executive Order (EO) titled ‘Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,’ and restore the functions, leadership, and employees of USAID.” 

The Ranking Members cite several instances of “DOGE’s” opaque and Orwellian efforts to dismantle the world’s premier development and foreign assistance agency.  These instances include placing 56 senior USAID officials and all “direct hire” staff on leave, making clear its intentions to shut down the agency, blocking Members of Congress from entering USAID headquarters to perform their Constitutional oversight duties, and effectively eliminating the agency by reducing the number of employees at USAID to approximately 290 from 10,000.  

“The potential repercussions to global humanitarian and development assistance caused by the sudden stoppage of U.S. foreign aid are dire.   Foreign assistance makes investments abroad that keep Americans safe at home.  Global health operations prevent outbreaks of disease.  Development programs address the roots causes of terrorism.  In the wake of the Trump Administration’s unilateral global retreat on foreign aid, our adversaries like China and Russia will step in to fill the vacuum,” concluded the Ranking Members. 

Today’s letter to Acting Administrator Rubio follows Committee Democrats’ oversight of “DOGE’s” potentially illegal infiltration of the federal government.