After a chaotic Monday morning at the agency when hundreds of federal workers were told to stay home, Trump named Rubio acting administrator of USAID, and in turn, Rubio chose Trump ally Peter Marocco to oversee an agency review and possible cuts. This series of events unfolded after the increasingly influential Elon Musk looked to gain control over the foreign aid organization and shut its headquarters to agency officials. Rubio wrote a letter to senior Republican and Democratic lawmakers in an attempt to ease their concerns about the agency’s future.

“The Department of State and other pertinent entities will be consulting with Congress and the appropriate committees to reorganize and absorb certain bureaus, offices, and missions of USAID,” Rubio wrote.

It is unclear how Rubio and the State Department would work with lawmakers on USAID with Musk’s determination to close the agency entirely. Rubio, in 2019, voiced his support for USAID in its efforts to fight the spread of tuberculosis. 

An email to USAID personnel on Monday morning said “Agency leadership” made the decision to close the headquarters, according to the Wall Street Journal. The message said replies should be directed to an email address that appears to be associated with Gavin Kliger, who, according to his LinkedIn profile, is a special adviser to the director of the Office of Personnel Management and works for Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

Democratic lawmakers in the House and Senate went to USAID headquarters Monday to hold a press conference about Musk’s attempt to close the agency.

“Elon Musk, you didn’t create USAID. The United States Congress did for the American people … like Elon Musk did not create USAID, he doesn’t have the power to destroy it. And who’s going to stop him? We are,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said.

“This is a constitutional crisis that we are in today,” Raskin added.

USAID is an independent organization codified into law in 1961. Its programs support economic development, counterterrorism training, and public health initiatives.  

Rubio additionally froze most foreign aid as part of a 90-day review. The immediate effect of Monday’s decision on these programs is unclear, but some aid organizations were told they could apply for waivers if they believe the freeze will harm U.S. interests. 

The fact that DOGE, under the control of the richest man in the world, nearly shuttered its doors made some question if this is how DOGE plans to carry out its operations with other agencies it does not like.

On the matter, Trump said Musk “has access only to letting people go that he thinks are no good, if we agree with him, and it’s only if we agree with him.”

“Elon can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval. We’ll give him the approval where appropriate; where not appropriate, we won’t. But he reports in, and it’s something that he feels very strongly about,” Trump added.

Earlier in the day, however, Musk said that Trump did agree with him that USAID should be closed, saying he “went over it with him in detail, and he agreed that we should shut it down.”

Musk also said on X, the social media platform he owns, “We are shutting [USAID] down.”

Foreign aid represents approximately 1% of the federal budget.