Trump Official Behind Huge Agency Cuts Is Already Out
Elon Musk’s United States Agency for International Development (USAID) hatchet man has been given the boot after just weeks on the job, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Peter Marocco, the State Department official who helped Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) goon squad take apart the USAID, lasted three months before he was told he was out, the paper stated.
After a meeting at the White House last week, he was reportedly told to return his laptop and agency badge. “Pete was brought to State with a big mission—to conduct an exhaustive review of every dollar spent on foreign assistance,” a senior administration official told WSJ.
The official, however, teased a possible new gig from the former Trump staffer.
“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,” they added, confirming he had departed.
While the official line was forgiving, according to officials, Marocco enjoyed a tumultuous time at the State Department—notably butting heads with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Two insiders told WSJ that it wasn’t Marocco’s choice to leave, with one adding that “he was at times at odds with Rubio and his top advisers.”
Rubio reportedly wanted cuts to USAID to be less far-reaching, whereas Morocco demanded a more hardline approach. In the end, Marocco helped cull 83 percent of foreign-aid programs and, infamously, helped shutter USAID.
In early March, staffers at U.S. African Development Foundation, which had a budget of just $40 million or so, blocked a team of DOGE goons from entering their office and firing them. Marocco joined them.
Marocco, who served in several different capacities during the first Trump Administration, could still move to a different role within the government.
“With his exit, serious questions still remain about the influence he leaves behind and whether or not Secretary Rubio plans to take actions that advance the mission and credibility of the United States,” said Sen. Brian Schatz, ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations.
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The Daily Beast