Afrasianet - Democrats staged a protest outside the headquarters of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Washington, D.C., after the Trump administration on Monday closed the agency's doors to staff at its headquarters in downtown Washington, D.C.

This came after US Secretary of State Marco Ropero announced on Sunday the inclusion of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in his administration, confirming his appointment as its administrator, and saying he would stop its "rebellion" on President Donald Trump's agenda.

The agency's official X account has also been suspended and its website is out of service, fueling speculation about the agency's future.

Musk said on his X account on Monday: "We are closing the U.S. Agency for International Development."

Musk's involvement in Democrats has sparked Trump and billionaire Elon Musk's move to freeze funding and a potential agency shutdown as "unconstitutional."

Perhaps for the first time the owner of a social networking site interferes in the affairs of the country, but it is the savage capitalism and the greedy merchant mentality adopted by Trump and Musk behind him

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said of Elon Musk's "Dogg" Government Efficiency Department's activities, which reportedly included access to sensitive federal payments data at the Treasury: "Before our eyes, an unelected shadow government is conducting a hostile takeover of the federal government."

Schumer added that Doug does not have the authority to make spending decisions. It doesn't have the authority to shut down programs or ignore federal law, and giving Doug a stranglehold on Treasury payments is very dangerous."

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren also condemned Elon Musk's "takeover" of "the system that ensures your grandfather gets Social Security, the system that ensures your mother's doctor receives Medicare payments to cover her appointment, and the system that ensures you get a tax refund due to you."

"Donald Trump and his billionaire friends are determined to take over this government to make it work better for themselves and worse for everyone."

BBC White House: Elon Musk is a government employee

Earlier, US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk launched an attack on the US Agency for International Development, in a move that falls within Trump's strategy to reduce government spending, which focuses on giving Musk, who has become a close adviser to the US president, broad powers to dismantle government institutions.

The White House confirmed to the BBC that Elon Musk works as a private government employee.

White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said in a statement: "Elon Musk selflessly serves the Trump administration as a private government employee and has complied with all applicable federal laws."

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a private government employee is "any individual who works, or is expected to work, for the government for 130 days or less in a 365-day period."

CNN quoted a person familiar with Musk's work as saying that the tech billionaire is not paid for work, and another was quoted as having high-level security clearance.

The Associated Press also reported that Musk has a government email address and office space at the White House.

Trump: US agency run by "maniacs"

According to a letter from Secretary of State Marco Rubio to senior members of Congress, the State Department will consult with Congress and its relevant committees "to reorganize and absorb certain USAID offices, offices and missions."

The letter said the State Department was notifying its interlocutors of its intention to initiate consultations on how foreign aid is distributed worldwide through USAID.

The letter added: "Current foreign aid operations are wholly ineffective and do not greatly benefit the American people. USAID performs many conflicting, overlapping and duplicate functions that it shares with the State Department."

Trump defended the White House's recent actions regarding the U.S. Agency for International Development, saying the agency was run by liberal "maniacs" and riddled with fraud, adding that Musk "cannot and will not do anything without our consent."

During a press conference on Sunday, Trump described the agency as "run by a group of crazy extremists," asserting that the administration would get rid of them and then make a decision on the agency's future. He added that he would not go into details for now.

Musk, the chairman of Tesla and SpaceX, launched a fierce attack on the agency via the X platform, calling it a "criminal organization" involved in "doing the dirty work of the CIA" and "censoring the Internet," and stressing his intention to shut it down.

Musk also claimed that the agency "funded research on biological weapons, including the coronavirus that has killed millions," without providing any evidence for these claims.

Although the comments were widely criticized, some from officials in former President Joe Biden's administration who asserted that they were part of a "Russian disinformation campaign," Trump renewed his support for Musk, saying Sunday night that he believed Musk was "doing a good job."

The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Republican Jim Risch, announced his support for Donald Trump and Elon Musk's plans to subordinate the U.S. Agency for International Development to Marco Rubio and the State Department.

"I've said for years that the greatest threat to national security Americans face is our mounting national debt, and we have to confront this, and to do that, we have to make tough choices, and we're going to have to look closely at all departments of government," Risch said in a statement.

"I support the Trump administration's efforts to reform and restructure the agency in a way that better serves the national security interests of the United States."

Syndicate: Trump administration's plans 'troubling'

The American Foreign Service Association, a union representing about 1,800 USAID employees and other foreign service officials, called the Trump's announced plan to merge the agency with the State Department "troubling."

Doing so "without notifying Congress and without a clear plan for continuity raises serious concerns about the future of U.S. development policy and America's global standing," the association said.

Thomas Yazdjerdi, president of the American Foreign Service Association, told the BBC that "dozens" of USAID employees had been placed on administrative leave, "if not more".

He estimated the number at about sixty, but noted the difficulty of counting the numbers, explaining that it depends on his talk to members.

He said employees placed on administrative leave have certain rights as federal employees, and that the union is willing to help affected USAID workers.

USAID, established by Act of Congress, manages a budget of up to $42.8 billion earmarked for humanitarian and development assistance worldwide.

Trump has frozen most government aid to Americans since taking office on Jan. 20, except for basic food and humanitarian aid.

In a video conference on platform X, Musk asserted that Trump "agrees that the agency should be shut down," noting that "tremendous progress" has been made in federal spending cuts through Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

Although this department is not part of the federal government, Musk said he continues to work to reduce the deficit and achieve economic growth without inflation.

In a controversial move, senior CIA officials were suspended after refusing to allow Musk's team access to sensitive information. But White House communications director Stephen Chung dismissed the reports as "fake news."

These events continue to draw attention to the future of USAID, which plays a pivotal role in providing humanitarian assistance around the world.

Federal agencies are condemning among US Democrats, who say he and Trump are violating the authority of Congress.

What does it mean to stop federal grants and U.S. foreign aid?

US President Donald Trump has halted grants, loans and other federal aid, according to a leaked government memo, later confirmed by the White House.

The two-page memo, issued by the acting head of the White House Budget Office, orders agencies to "temporarily halt all activities related to commitments or disburse all federal financial assistance."

Many details about the order, which went into effect on Tuesday afternoon, remain unclear, causing widespread confusion.

That presidential order could cripple billions of dollars earmarked for federal programs, such as disaster relief and cancer research.

In her first press conference as White House press secretary, Caroline Levitt defended the presidential order, saying the freeze was motivated by "concern for tax money."

"I think this is a very reasonable measure," she said, explaining that the pause would allow the government to get rid of spending on gender issues and ethnic diversity programs that contradict Trump's executive orders.

The White House said Medicare and Social Security benefits would not be affected, nor would any programs that "provide direct benefits to individuals," including supplemental food assistance or food stamps.

But Levat did not elaborate on how aid to individuals would be protected in practice, with many going first to state governments and other organizations, which then pass the aid on to individuals.

Levat also did not rule out cutting Medicaid, a joint program between the federal and state governments that provides health insurance to low-income Americans.

Hours after the order was issued late at night, the White House issued a second memo, containing more information.

The second memo said the pause was not "comprehensive," but only applied to projects covered by various executive orders issued by Trump, including those aimed at repealing the federal government's racial diversity programs.

Democrats attacked the freeze, saying it would bring chaos and harm to millions of Americans and warned it violated federal law.

In a letter to the White House, top Democrats expressed "grave concern."

Senator Patty Murray of Washington and Congressman Rosa de Lauro of Connecticut wrote, "The scale of what you order is staggering, unprecedented and will have devastating consequences across the country."

"We are writing today to urge you to respect the law and the Constitution and to ensure that all federal resources are delivered in accordance with the law," they added.

A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general said they would file a lawsuit to block it, calling it unconstitutional.

"My office will take imminent legal action against this administration's unconstitutional suspension of federal funding," New York Attorney General Letitia James wrote on social media, adding, "We will not sit idly by while this administration harms our families."

Acting head of the Office of Management and Budget Matthew Feith called on government agencies to ensure spending is consistent with Trump's priorities in a memo Monday evening, days after the United States stopped providing almost all foreign aid.

Feith wrote that federal agencies should "temporarily halt all activities related to the commitment or disbursement of all federal financial aid," and any other programs that include "diversity, equality and inclusion, gender ideology and the Green New Deal."

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion programmes aim to promote workplace participation by people from diverse backgrounds.

Their supporters say they address historical or persistent discrimination and underrepresentation of certain groups, including ethnic minorities, but critics argue that such programs can be discriminatory in their own right.

A law endorsing the Green New Deal, a proposal to prevent climate change through public policy, has yet to be passed.

Feith noted that the shutdown would last until at least mid-February, and asked agencies to submit a detailed report on the programs affected by February 10.

The memo notes that the federal government spent $10 trillion in fiscal year 2024, more than $3 trillion of which went to federal financial aid, but the source of those figures is unclear. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that the government spent $6.7 trillion that year.

Nonprofits have also expressed concern.

Diane Yintel, chief executive of the National Council of Nonprofits, said in a statement: "This is a grave crisis for nonprofits and the people and communities they serve."

"From stopping research on childhood cancer treatments to stopping food assistance, safety from domestic violence and shutting down suicide helplines, the impact of any short interruption in funding can be devastating and costly lives."

The move follows news last week that the State Department had ordered a halt to all foreign aid and new aid, according to an internal memo sent to officials and embassies abroad.

The order has a profound impact on many issues, such as development aid and military aid, with exceptions only for emergency food aid and military funding to Israel and Egypt.

Trump earlier issued an executive order suspending 90 days on foreign development aid, pending a review of competencies and alignment with his foreign policy.

The United States is the world's largest donor of international aid, spending $68 billion in 2023, according to government figures.