Trump official who dismantled USAID abruptly fired from State Department
Washington DC - Pete Marocco, the official appointed by the Trump administration to oversee the systematic dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has been let go by the State Department.
Marocco was asked to turn in his agency badge and laptop after attending a meeting at The White House last week following a reported clash with Secretary of State Marco Rubio over USAID, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Over the less than three months that Marocco spent in his position at the State Department, he became one of the chief architects of a policy that cut about 83% of USAID's funding.
The brutal gutting of USAID has left thousands of vital aid projects – many of which provided food for malnourished children and critical health support – without the funding needed to carry out their functions.
A March memo also revealed the intention for USAID to be renamed the US Agency for International Humanitarian Assistance (USIHA) and redirect funds towards programs that better align with Trump's agenda.
"Pete was brought to State with a big mission – to conduct an exhaustive review of every dollar spent on foreign assistance," a senior State Department official told The Wall Street Journal.
"He conducted that historic task and exposed egregious abuses of taxpayer dollars. We all expect big things are in store for Pete on his next mission," the official said. "He is no longer at State."
Another official implied that Marocco's departure was due to disagreements with Rubio, though no official confirmation or statement has been released by either the State Department or Marocco himself.
In March, Marocco departed USAID to refocus on his work as Director of Foreign Assistance at the State Department. Upon his exit, he declared that USAID is now "under control, accountable, and stable."
"It's been my honor to assist Secretary Rubio in his leadership of USAID through some difficult stages to pivot this enterprise away from its abuses of the past," he said in an email at the time.
Cover photo: AFP/Luis Tato