President Donald Trump is considering charges against USAID staffers after a recent meeting with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The meeting revealed massive systemic fraud within the embattled agency. Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, who sat in on the meeting, gave his thoughts in an interview with the Daily Mail on March 5, 2025.
Pete Marocco, USAID’s deputy administrator-designate, briefed the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the ongoing investigations headed up by DOGE. The Capitol Hill meeting was designed to update lawmakers on the implementation of Trump’s foreign aid policies. Marocco said that this investigation may well lead to criminal prosecutions.
Apparently, there’s still judicial action that has even come out as late as this morning,” Self, R-Texas, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Daily Mail. “They intend to refer USAID officials to DOJ. [Fraud] is a criminal act. If they are detecting outright fraud, not just bad programs, not just ignoble programs, not just programs that don’t support the national interest of the United States, if they’re finding fraud, then, absolutely” they need to face consequences.
“You’re going to have to have a paper trail to prove that,” the Texas Republican added. “And I doubt that they would refer anyone without a very strong paper trail.” The Daily Mail interviewed another source who attended the meeting. This source said that, “Marocco briefed the full House Foreign Affairs Committee, Democrats and Republicans, that the waste, fraud, and abuse at USAID was more severe than initially presumed.”
“He told lawmakers that multiple referrals to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution were being considered,” the anonymous source said. “The conduct in question arose because of USAID’s decentralized accountability system that often left grantees on the ground using American tax dollars in ways that were both inappropriate and potentially illegal.”
Republicans noted absurd payments including a “$2 million to conduct sex change surgeries in Guatemala through a trans led organization” and “$22 million to increase tourism in Tunisia and Egypt.” A notice was sent to USAID workers which indicated the scale of the investigation. The Trump admin placed all employees on administrative leave pending the results of the probe.
“As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally,” the notice said. However, they carved out exemptions for employees in hostile environments.
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“USAID is committed to keeping its overseas personnel safe,” said the same document. “Until they return home, personnel will retain access to Agency systems and to diplomatic and other resources.” They added that the employees who oversee will still receive “voluntary Agency-funded return travel” and other support. In a post made to X on January 15, 2025, DOGE explained the massive scale of USAID spending. “USAID spends $40B+ of taxpayer dollars to fund foreign aid: – $45mm to DEI scholarships in Burma – $520mm for consultant-driven ESG investments in Africa – $1.2bn in awards to undisclosed recipients,” DOGE posted.