Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staff closed the US African Development Foundation (USADF) headquarters in DC on Wednesday amid an escalating battle for agency leadership.
Several Doge workers tried to enter the Washington agency on Wednesday but “we couldn't access it,” USADF confirmed to the hill. Officials eventually left the building, the agency said. Oka reached out to Doge for comment.
In a letter to the staff at Doge obtained from the hill, Ward Brehm wrote, “I have instructed USADF staff to follow the rules and procedures that they will not allow this type of meeting without my presence.”
President Trump is reportedly trying to set up Peter Marrocco, the acting chief of the US Agency for International Aid (USAID), who oversaw Trump's attempts, which guided the agency and got the agency to lead the USADF. Marrocco reportedly attended alongside the Doge team on Wednesday.
In his letter, Brehm suggested that Marrocco should be officially appointed to the independent board of directors before Trump can control the operation.
“We look forward to working with Mr. Marrocco after he has been appointed to a seat on the board and his nomination has been confirmed by the Senate,” Bream said in the letter.
President Trump An executive order has been issued On February 19th, he called for the removal of USADF's “ununified components and functions,” along with Presidio Trust, the Inter-American Foundation, and the American Institute of Peace.
In the order, Trump said leaders of the agency mentioned should submit a report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within two weeks.
The USADF is an independent institution created in 1980 and supports small and medium-sized businesses and grassroots groups that serve marginalized groups and communities in Africa.
The agency says so Between 2019 and 2023awarded more than $141 million in grants to more than 1,050 community businesses in Africa, directly affecting 6.2 million people on the continent.
In a letter, Brehm wrote, “We are fully cooperating with the President's request to stop temporarily ejecting funds, and upon request we have submitted a report explaining the USADF's statutory duties and the resources needed to fulfill its mission.”
Democrats The letter was issued on February 24th To assert Trump does not have the authority to effectively shut down Congress-approved agencies.
“An attempt to unilaterally dismantle the USADF through administrative measures violates the law and exceeds the constitutional limits of the administrative authorities,” they wrote.
Trump's mid-February executive order is part of a broader push that the administration dramatically reduces foreign aid, effectively shuts down USAID and folds several programs into the State Department.
Marrocco makes little effort to alleviate bipartisan concerns, particularly about the work of life supervised by US entities around the world.
Marrocco said at a private meeting with House Foreign Affairs Committee lawmakers on Wednesday that the administration could result in criminal referrals to criminal workers or recipients of agency grants for alleged misuse of foreign aid.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen (DN.H.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; A statement has been issued On Saturday, Trump's apparent attempts criticized attempts with the Inter-American Foundation to dismantle the USAFD.
“President Trump has attempted to circumvent the law and establish unidentified loyalists as representative chairs of both the Inter-American Foundation (IAF) and the US African Development Foundation (USADF), and is illegal and unacceptable as a means of terminating the program,” Shaheen said.
“As per decree, the board of directors is appointed by the president and subject to confirmation by the Senate,” the senator added. “If President Trump wants to nominate a new board member, he can submit his nomination to the Senate, as the law requires.”
