Samantha Power led USAID from 2021-2025. (Getty Images)
Fox News reported in 2017 that Power was "unmasking" at such a rapid pace in the final months of the Obama administration that she averaged more than one request for every working day in 2016, and she even sought information in the days leading up to President Trump’s inauguration, according to multiple sources close to the matter.
Power’s tenure at USAID was also not without controversy, even from her own party, including an incident in which she faced a public revolt from current and former staff in 2024 over her support of Israel.
Critics also took issue with her repeatedly meeting with influential liberal foundations while serving in her role at USAID, which Fox News Digital reported in 2023, included George Soros' Open Society Foundations at least two times, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation at least five times, and meetings with several other powerful groups like Ford and Rockefeller foundations.
Power’s supporters say she has played a critical role in providing U.S. assistance to war-torn areas like Ukraine and Gaza along with aiding the relief of humanitarian crises that have developed in places like Haiti, Armenia and Sudan.
"The best testament to USAID’s contribution is the surge in PRC-backed and Russian-backed propaganda maligning USAID and our work around the world," Power said in an exit interview with Politico last month. "And it’s really picked up a lot over the last year and a half. We counted 81 malicious and false propaganda campaigns, really dedicated campaigns, aimed at denigrating USAID and our reputation. So we’re doing something that is getting on their nerves."
USAID HAS 'DEMONSTRATED PATTERN OF OBSTRUCTIONISM,' CLAIMS TOP DOGE REPUBLICAN IN LETTER TO RUBIO
Elon Musk speaks during an America PAC town hall on Oct. 26, 2024, in Lancaster, Pa. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Democrats counter that the agency plays a vital role in U.S. national security interests and say it should remain independent. They point to the work USAID did to counter Soviet influence during the Cold War, a sphere of influence that could remain a concern amid China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Tech billionaire and DOGE Chair Elon Musk has been on a warpath against USAID, which is an independent U.S. agency that was established under the Kennedy administration to administer economic aid to foreign nations, as he leads DOGE’s mission of cutting government fat and overspending at the federal level.
Musk announced in an audio-only message on X over the weekend that "we’re in the process" of "shutting down USAID."
"On Friday, February 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST) all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs," USAID's website currently says. "Essential personnel expected to continue working will be informed by Agency leadership by Thursday, February 6, at 3:00pm (EST)."
A Fox News Digital review of USAID’s recent history shows that it has repeatedly been accused of financial mismanagement and corruption long before Trump's second administration, with spending that took place under Power’s reign likely to continue to be a focus of conversation with Republicans.
Elon Musk leads the Department of Government Efficiency. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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Power sat down with late-night host Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night and defended USAID's work and warned against shutting it down, claiming that children overseas in line for tuberculosis treatment were told to go home as a result of Trump's executive order.
"Programs that were running, the people we’re depending on, in some cases, for life-saving medicine, like medicine, if you have HIV, that keeps you alive, quite literally," Power told Colbert. "Or if you’re in Sudan and you have a child who’s wasting away because of malnutrition, a miracle paste, a peanut paste that USAID provides brings that kid back from the brink of death. All of those programs are shuttered."
Democrat lawmakers took part in a rally against DOGE on Tuesday outside the Treasury Department, arguing that Musk's actions are unconstitutional and a threat to Democracy.
"My heart is with the people out on the street outside USAID, but my head tells me, ‘Man, Trump will be well satisfied to have this fight,’" veteran strategist David Axelrod, who served with Power in the Obama administration, said this week. "When you talk about cuts, the first thing people say is: Cut foreign aid."
Fox News Digital’s Caitlin McFall, Emma Colton and Gregg Re contributed to this report
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.
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