USAID watchdog fired after critical report on the bid to dismantle the agency

Washington: The inspector general for the US Agency for International Development was fired on Tuesday, a USAID official said, a day after his office published a report critical of the Trump administration's effort to eliminate the agency.

Paul Martin had served as the agency's inspector general, a position requiring US Senate confirmation, since December 2023.

The USAID official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said Martin was "removed from his position."

Martin was informed by an email from Trent Morse, deputy director of the Office of Presidential Personnel. Morse told Martin that his position as USAID inspector general was terminated "effective immediately," a copy of the email showed.

No reason was provided. The White House did not have any comment.

The inspector general's office on Monday released a report that said the Trump administration's move to dismantle USAID has crippled its ability to conduct oversight of unspent aid worth $8.2 billion.

The report said staff cuts and stop-work orders have made it difficult to ensure taxpayer-funded aid would end up in the hands of those intended.

Hundreds of USAID programs across the globe representing billions of dollars of US assistance came to a halt after US President Donald Trump on January 20 ordered a freeze on most US foreign aid, saying he wanted to ensure it was aligned with his "America First" policy.

Trump on Tuesday called USAID "incompetent and corrupt," as he tasked billionaire Elon Musk with scaling down the agency, which had more than 10,000 staff at home and overseas before all but just over 600 were put on leave or fired.

The Trump administration last week took steps to put most of USAID's workforce on administrative leave, but the move was blocked by a judge on Friday.

In fiscal year 2023, the United States disbursed $72 billion of aid worldwide on initiatives including women's health in conflict zones, clean water access, HIV/AIDS treatments, energy security and anti-corruption work. It provided 42 per cent of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024.

The funding, less than 1 per cent of the US federal budget, has historically been justified as instrumental to Washington's efforts to build alliances around the world, reinforce diplomacy and counter the influence of adversaries such as China and Russia in the developing world.