The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has fired the Independent Inspector of the United States International Development Agency (USAID), the US media reported on Wednesday.
Paul Martin’s dismissal occurred one day after his office issued a critical report of the Trump administration efforts to dismant Washington Post, CNN And others reported.
They cited an email of two prayers of the White House sent on Tuesday to Martin telling him that his position was “finished, immediately effective”, but without explanation of the reasons for the decision.
His office report had warned that more than $ 489 million in food assistance were at risk of potential deterioration or diversion after the Trump administration implemented a freezing and stop work order.
The report said it had “identified for a long time significant challenges and offered recommendations to improve the agency’s programming to prevent fraud, waste and abuse.”
“However, the recent reductions of generalized personnel throughout the agency … together with the uncertainty about the scope of foreign assistance exemptions and permissible communications with the implemers, have degraded USAID’s ability to distribute and safeguard assistance humanitarian financed by taxpayers. “
Trump had already fired 18 general inspectors, who are independent guard dogs of the federal government, but Martin, designated by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, had remained in his place.
Trump, who began his second term last month, launched a crusade led by his main donor Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, to reduce or dismantle the bases of the United States government.
The most concentrated fire has been in USAID, the main organization to distribute American humanitarian aid worldwide with health and emergency programs in around 120 countries.
USAID manages a budget of $ 42.8 billion, which represents 42 percent of the humanitarian aid disbursed worldwide.
It was seen as a vital source of soft power for the United States in its struggle for influence with rivals, including China.
The Trump administration has frozen foreign aid, ordered thousands of international base personnel to return to the United States, and began reducing USAID staff of 10,000 employees to about only 300.
Labor unions are challenging the legality of the attack. A federal judge ordered a pause on Friday to the administration plan to put 2,200 USAID workers on a paid license for the weekend.
Democrats say it would be unconstitutional for Trump to close government agencies without the approval of the legislature.
