Trump-appointed official who oversaw dismantling of USAID leaves State Department

By Humeyra Pamuk

(Reuters) -Pete Marocco, the Trump administration official who played a major role in dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development, has left the State Department, a U.S. official said on Sunday.

President Donald Trump's administration has moved to fire nearly all USAID staff, as billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has slashed funding and dismissed contractors across the federal bureaucracy in what it calls an attack on wasteful spending.

"Pete was brought to State with a big mission — to conduct an exhaustive review of every dollar spent on foreign assistance. He conducted that historic task and exposed egregious abuses of taxpayer dollars," a senior administration official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

"We all expect big things are in store for Pete on his next mission," the official added.

Sources told Reuters that Marocco, who was the director of foreign assistance at the State Department, may have been pushed out, but they declined to give further explanation.

As recently as Thursday, he held a "listening session" at the State Department with nearly two dozen experts to discuss the future of foreign assistance and seek input, according to a source familiar with the event and an invitation to the session seen by Reuters.

When Marocco returned to the State Department less than a month ago, he said in an internal email, "I am going to return to my post as the Director of Foreign Assistance to bring value back to the American people."

Democratic Senator Brian Schatz, of Hawaii, said, "Marocco's tenure brought chaos to USAID, reckless and unlawful policy to the State Department, and dismantled long-standing U.S. foreign policy.

"His actions deprived millions of people around the world of life-saving aid and jeopardized U.S. credibility with our partners. But with his exit, serious questions still remain about the influence he leaves behind," Schatz said in a statement.

Trump has claimed without evidence that USAID was rife with fraud and run by "radical left lunatics," while Musk falsely accused it of being a "criminal" organization.

Trump's administration on Tuesday moved to reinstate at least six recently canceled U.S. foreign aid programs for emergency food assistance.

The quick reversal of decisions made just days ago underscored the rapid-fire nature of Trump's cuts to foreign aid. That has led to programs being cut, restored, then cut again, disrupting international humanitarian operations.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk. Additional reporting by Disha Mishra in Bengaluru. Writing by Idrees Ali; Editing by Leslie Adler and Diane Craft)