Republican Lawmaker Addresses Reports USAID Will Fold Into State Dept

Representative Brian Mast, a Florida Republican and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Sunday during an interview appearance with CBS News that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is "likely" to become more closely linked to the State Department amid reports that the agency will be folded into it.

Newsweek has reached out to the State Department for comment via email on Sunday.

Why It Matters

Confusion over the future of USAID has grown after President Donald Trump assumed office and signed the Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid executive order, which freezes foreign aid as part of a reassessment of U.S. financial commitments abroad in line with his administration's "America First" stance.

The United States is the largest provider of global humanitarian assistance, providing around 40 percent, but foreign aid makes up less than 1 percent of the federal budget.

International aid organizations immediately felt the impact of the freeze, with thousands of layoffs and programs halted worldwide.

What To Know

On Sunday morning, CBS News' Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan asked Mast about the current state of USAID, whose website has been dark since Saturday, and if the Trump administration has "plans to dismantle or significantly shrink" the agency.

Her question comes as news outlets, including Reuters, cite sources reporting that the Trump administration is considering downsizing the aid organization and having it placed directly under the State Department.

"This is something that I'm working on very specifically in conjunction with Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio to make sure that there's the appropriate command and control of these agencies," the congressman responded.

Brennan then noted that "they already report to the Secretary of State."

USAID currently operates as an independent agency overseeing foreign assistance programs, including humanitarian aid, economic development and disaster relief. While independent, the agency receives foreign policy guidance from the secretary of state, who also contributes to budget decisions and fund allocations, which are ultimately approved by Congress.

The administrator of USAID, who is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, reports to the secretary of state. Trump's executive order issued a 90-day pause on foreign aid to conduct a thorough review of "programmatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policy."

During his Sunday appearance, Mast repeated that the State Department, which is now run by Rubio, another Florida Republican, is likely to play a much larger role in the foreign aid agency and emphasized the need for appropriate "command and control" to understand where and what the aid money is going towards.

Brennan asked Mast: "Congress already authorizes and earmarks the funding. Just to be very clear, you're not endorsing getting rid of USAID as a separate department which already reports to the secretary of state, are you?"

Mast responded that he would "absolutely be for—if that's the path we go down— removing USAID as a separate department and having it fall under one of the other parts of United States Department of State because of its failure."

More than 50 senior career USAID officials were placed on administrative leave on Monday, The Washington Post reported.

When pushed by Brennan on why implement the freeze prior to the review, Mast replied: "The way that you make them come and answer for where they are actually sending dollars is to say we're freezing, that we're putting it on hold. You need to come to us and explain what it is you're doing, why you're doing it, and where it's actually saving life."

What People Are Saying

Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State Tammy Bruce said in a January 26 statement: "The United States is no longer going to blindly dole out money with no return for the American people."

A spokesperson for the State Department told Newsweek on Wednesday: "We are judiciously reviewing all the waivers submitted. The Secretary of State has the ultimate responsibility to ensure to protect America's investments."

Michael Schiffer, who previously served as assistant administrator of the USAID Bureau for Asia, wrote in an article on January 27: "To be clear, there is no such thing as a temporary pause. When an NGO, a small business, or an American company that receives U.S. government funding to implement U.S. foreign assistance is told to stop work, even for 90 days, that means people are fired, expertise is lost, and programs are shut down with no guarantee they'll start back up, even if they survive the review. It is difficult to exaggerate the reverberating effects of a stop-work order on the ability of such organizations and their programs to continue to function."

Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, wrote in an X, formerly Twitter, post on January 31: "A President cannot eliminate an appropriated federal agency by executive order. That's what a despot - who wants to steal the taxpayers money to enrich his billionaire cabal - does. Watch USAID tonight."

Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America, told the Associated Press on Wednesday: "The aid community is grappling with just how existential this aid suspension is."

Atul Gawande, the former assistant administrator of USAID for the bureau of global health wrote in a January 29 New Yorker article about the sweeping effects of the freeze: "U.S.A.I.D.'s work with W.H.O. and the government of Tanzania battling a Marburg virus outbreak—a cousin of Ebola with no approved test, drug, or vaccine, and a death rate of up to ninety-per-cent-death—halted. The U.S. government's work with countries around the world, W.H.O., and UNICEF, to eradicate polio—halted."

What Happens Next

The future of the USAID remains unclear, and the site continues to be down. The comprehensive review is expected to be completed within three months, culminating in a report. Rubio will use this report to make recommendations to President Trump.