By ELLEN KNICKMEYER Updated 7:05 PM CST, February 10, 2025
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Agency for International Development has lost almost all ability to track $8.2 billion in unspent humanitarian aid following the Trump administration’s foreign funding freeze and idling of staffers, a government watchdog warned Monday.
The administration’s fast-moving dismantling of the agency has left oversight of the aid “largely nonoperational,” USAID’s inspector general’s office said. That includes a greatly reduced ability to ensure that no assistance falls into the hands of violent extremist groups or goes astray in unstable regions or conflict zones, the watchdog said.
The Trump administration’s actions have “significantly impacted USAID’s capacity to disburse and safeguard its humanitarian assistance programming,” it said, also citing the risk of hundreds of millions of dollars in commodities rotting after staff was barred from delivering it.
The inspector general, however, also noted that it has “longstanding concerns about existing USAID oversight mechanisms.”
Meanwhile, the administration and billionaire ally Elon Musk continued their unraveling of the aid agency. The General Services Administration, which manages government buildings, told The Associated Press that it had stripped USAID from the lease on its Washington headquarters. ...
In the first three weeks of his administration, President Donald Trump has moved with brazen haste to dismantle the federal government’s public integrity guardrails that he frequently tested during his first term.
The Trump administration has appealed a judge’s ruling finding the White House had not fully followed his order to unfreeze federal spending and must release billions of dollars in funding.
As Elon Musk has led an effort to slash government spending, his own companies have, over the last few years, received billions of dollars in government contracts.
The Department of Government Efficiency’s embed into the federal government has raised a host of concerns, transforming a debate over how to cut government waste into a confrontation over privacy rights and the nation’s financial standing in the world.
A federal judge has ordered the fired head of the federal agency dedicated to protecting whistleblowers to be reinstated while a court fight continues over his removal by President Donald Trump.
The Trump administration has begun mass layoffs across multiple federal agencies, a move expected to affect thousands of employees, sources familiar told ABC News.
Scientists warn the Trump administration’s drastic cuts for medical research endanger patients, will cost thousands of jobs and threaten America’s standing as a world leader in science and innovation.
Billionaire Elon Musk said Saturday that "the bar is very low" after announcing that all federal employees must report their productivity if they wish to keep their jobs.
Musk, a senior advisor to President Donald Trump, said earlier on Saturday that employees will receive an email giving them a chance to explain how productive they were the previous week. If an employee fails to respond to the email, Musk said the government will interpret that as a resignation.
"Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will...
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia is well aware that plenty of people are waiting for his decision on whether to run for the Senate next year.
The popular term-limited conservative governor is the GOP's dream candidate to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is considered vulnerable, in the key southeastern battleground state, as Republicans aim to expand their 53-47 Senate majority in the 2026 midterm elections.
"We need to flip that seat. We should have a Republican in that seat, and I believe we'll have one after the '26 election," Kemp...
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked Congress to approve nearly $40 billion in aid to help the Los Angeles area recover from January’s devastating wildfires
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a jab at President Trump after Canada's victory over the United States in an international hockey tournament.
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