DOGE official takes a leadership role at USAID, an agency Musk's team
has helped dismantle
[March 20, 2025]
By MATT BROWN and ELLEN KNICKMEYER
WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior official at Elon Musk’s Department of
Government Efficiency is taking a leadership role at the U.S. Agency for
International Development, according to an email obtained by The
Associated Press, giving DOGE a top job at an agency that it has helped
to dismantle.
Jeremy Lewin, who has played a central role in DOGE's government-cutting
efforts at USAID and other federal agencies, becomes at least the second
DOGE lieutenant to be appointed to a top job at an agency during the
Trump administration, further formalizing the work of Musk's associates
in the federal government.
The integral role that DOGE teams have played in the administration's
push to dramatically reduce the size of the government has been divisive
among the public and lawmakers. Musk has faced heavy blowback from some
and support from others for his chainsaw-wielding approach to laying off
workers and slashing programs.
Pete Marocco, a Trump administration political appointee who was serving
as deputy head of USAID, disclosed the change in an email Tuesday to
State Department staff. It comes after Marocco and DOGE oversaw the
gutting of 83% of USAID contracts, shifting the remaining programs under
the State Department.
Marocco said in his email that he will serve as the State Department's
director of foreign assistance. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce
on Wednesday confirmed his appointment.
She told reporters it was “an indispensable role in aligning all U.S.
government foreign assistance with the president’s priorities.”
Marocco wrote that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will “effective
immediately” designate Lewin as deputy administrator for policy and
programs at USAID and as chief operating officer.
The move comes as multiple proposals circulate among State Department
and USAID officials on what foreign assistance programs to save and how
to carry them out as the Trump administration works to scrap the aid and
development agency.
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Marocco's email was sent the same day a federal judge ruled that
Musk and DOGE likely lacked constitutional authority to help the
Trump administration shut down State Department and USAID foreign
assistance, fire staffers and terminate humanitarian and development
contracts.
In a ruling Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland
indefinitely blocked DOGE from making further cuts to the agency.
The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by USAID employees and
contractors, who argued that Musk and DOGE are wielding power that
the Constitution reserves only for those who win elections or are
confirmed by the Senate. Their lawyers said the ruling “effectively
halts or reverses” many of the steps taken to dismantle the agency.
The lawsuit was aimed specifically at DOGE, and the ruling suggested
that similar moves from designated officials at USAID would not
necessarily run afoul of the Constitution in the same way.
In February, the Treasury Department designated another worker
associated with DOGE, Tom Krause, to perform the functions of an
assistant secretary at the agency. That came after Democratic
lawmakers and others expressed alarm at DOGE's access to Treasury's
payment systems.
In this week's actions, Rubio also designated Kenneth Jackson as
administrator for management and resources who will also serve as
the agency’s chief financial officer, according to Marocco's email.
President Donald Trump also recently appointed Jackson as acting
president of the U.S. Institute for Peace, a government think tank
meant to promote conflict resolution.
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AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.
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