Visitors walk up a stair during the opening of the restoration project at the historic Bimaristan Al-Muayyad Sheikh, one of the oldest hospitals following extensive renovations carried out in partnership between Egypt’s Tourism and Antiquities Ministry and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), ensuring sustainable management of historic sites at Souk al-Silah district in Old Cairo, Egypt August 18, 2024.
USAID’s director of security and his deputy were placed on administrative leave after trying to prevent employees from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing secure USAID systems. The DOGE team, led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, who was empowered by the Trump administration, was trying to access personnel files, security systems, and security clearance information for agency employees. The DOGE employees were eventually able to gain access to the secure systems, but it is unclear what information they were able to obtain.
Musk has accused USAID of being a “criminal organization” without offering evidence, and called for the agency to “die.” Trump administration officials are discussing placing USAID under the authority of the State Department, a move that Democrats and legal experts argue would violate a law adopted by Congress.
In response to the DOGE employees’ actions, USAID’s website went dark on Saturday and remained offline as of Sunday evening. Over 1,000 USAID employees and contractors have been fired or furloughed from the agency in recent weeks, and several of the agency’s communications staff were blocked from accessing internal systems to communicate with staff. One USAID official said, “No one feels safe to go anywhere near the Ronald Reagan building. We just had Elon Musk call us a criminal organization. Our security chief was escorted out. We know we are being surveilled by DOGE.”
