The Trump administration has fired the inspector general of USAID just a day after he issued a sharp warning about the state of affairs within the organisation.
Inspector General Paul Martin was unceremoniously dumped on Tuesday via an email from the deputy director of the Office of Presidential Personnel which said his role was ‘terminated, effective immediately.’
One day earlier, Martin had released a report warning that President Trump’s dismantling of the organisation, with the help of Elon Musk-led DOGE, had made it all but impossible to monitor $8.2 billion in unspent humanitarian funds.
Inspectors general are typically independently funded watchdogs attached to government agencies and tasked with rooting out waste, fraud and abuse.
The Trump administration earlier purged more than a dozen inspectors general, but Martin had been spared even as his department came under scrutiny for wasteful spending.
Martin’s office issued a flash report warning that the Trump administration’s freeze on all foreign assistance and moves to cut USAID staff had left oversight of the humanitarian aid ‘largely nonoperational.’
That includes the agency’s ability to ensure none of the funding falls into the hands of violent extremist groups or goes astray in conflict zones, the watchdog said.
A spokesperson for the USAID Office of Inspector General confirmed Martin’s role had been terminated. They gave no reason for the decision.
Inspector General Paul Martin (left) was unceremoniously dumped on Tuesday via an email from the deputy director of the Office of Presidential Personnel which said his role was ‘terminated, effective immediately.’
Staff were locked out of their office and sent home amid warnings the majority of the workforce would be let go, sparking protests outside
Martin began in the role in December 2023. The government is required by law to provide 30 days notice to Congress if an inspector general is to be fired.
They’re also required to provide justification for the decision.
Martin now joins 19 other inspectors general from federal departments fired under Trump’s new administration.
Trump, along with his billionaire ‘First Buddy’ Musk, has unraveled much of the aid agency and faced legal hurdles along the way.
The General Services Administration stripped USAID of the lease in Washington it had held for decades as part of the purge.
Trump, along with his billionaire ‘First Buddy’ Musk, has unraveled much of the aid agency and faced legal hurdles along the way
One day earlier, Martin had released a report warning that President Trump’s dismantling of the organisation, with the help of Elon Musk-led DOGE, had made it all but impossible to monitor $8.2 billion in unspent humanitarian funds
Musk’s cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency has set to work rapidly dismantling government bodies, initially targeting DEI structures
Staff were locked out of their office and sent home amid warnings the majority of the workforce would be let go.
Musk’s cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency has set to work rapidly dismantling government bodies, initially targeting DEI structures.
But USAID has been hit hardest, with Trump and Musk accusing the agency’s work around the world of being out of line with Trump’s agenda and wasteful.
Trump signed an executive order January 20 freezing foreign assistance, forcing U.S.-funded aid and development programs worldwide to shut down and lay off staff.
