Staff Reports
The swamp is alive and well, and it seems nearly 60 senior officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have discovered just how deep the muck really goes. After a new act of governmental rebellion was unearthed, the acting administrator, Jason Gray, has taken decisive action by placing these officials on paid leave. Apparently, they were trying to pull a fast one and circumvent the executive orders laid out by President Trump—a valiant effort to restore sanity to U.S. foreign aid.
Jason Gray’s internal memo made it clear that he’s not playing games. He flagged multiple actions within USAID that seemed intent on dodging the will of the people as expressed through presidential directives. In a world where the government needs to be kept in check, it seems these officials believed they could keep pursuing their agenda, all while ignoring orders from the top. It’s hard not to chuckle at the audacity of these bureaucrats, digging their heels in to ensure business as usual. Spoiler alert: business as usual is not in the cards anymore.
Trump administration just put some USAID people on leave. They tried to go-around Trumps order to stop aid. Here is the admin. Over there. pic.twitter.com/kz8jmHKndC
— gman (@richie17523) January 28, 2025
As for which executive orders these officials thought they could sidestep, that detail was left tantalizingly absent. However, this shake-up follows President Trump’s recent edict that froze nearly all U.S. foreign aid for 90 days, a move that Secretary of State Marco Rubio quickly communicated to embassies worldwide. Not surprisingly, this pause on foreign funding has ruffled some feathers among those who have their hands in the public till. A temporary halt to flow taxpayer dollars like water might just rile up the usual suspects—people who think pursuing aid programs is more important than adhering to the laws of the land.
Interestingly, a former USAID official pointed out that these employees have seen many administrations come and go, including Trump’s first term. It’s as if these officials were busy crafting their next “how to aid without really aiding” strategy while the rest of America got a wake-up call. After all, there are rules to follow, and ignoring the executive branch’s directives is an excellent way to invite scrutiny. So, here’s a thought: maybe the next time they think about pressing forward with their plans, they might want to take a look at who’s in charge.
In the stuffy world of government bureaucracy, it’s refreshing to see someone taking a firm stand against the status quo. The very notion that some of these officials were actively seeking ways to work around the funding freeze demonstrates the sheer determination of certain bureaucratic elites to play by their own rules. But, as the saying goes, the road to reform is paved with administrative leave—paid, naturally, since the taxpayer is always there to foot the bill for their efforts to undermine the President.
