Pete Marocco in Bogota, Colombia, in 2019. (Getty Images)
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Chair Elon Musk and the Trump administration have been on a warpath in recent weeks against the United States Agency for International Development's history of reported overspending and mismanagement. USAID is an independent U.S. agency that was established under the Kennedy administration to administer economic aid to foreign nations.
Musk has characterized the agency as "a viper’s nest of radical-left marxists who hate America."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a visit to aircraft maintenance firm Aeroman in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador, Feb. 3, 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press)
The internal State Department memo continued that Marocco explained to the group of faith-based organizations that the Trump administration is "intentionally disrupting the system to identify and root out significant problems" with its foreign aid programs.
"As you know, we’re in the midst of conducting a review of U.S. foreign aid programs," the memo said of the director's opening remarks. "It’s challenging because we’re taking a very different approach from other reviews. Our review is starting from zero – a zero-based methodology. That means we are intentionally disrupting the system to identify and root out significant problems. Yes, this is causing unintended consequences for some programs, and those issues are being addressed separate from this forum."
'VIPER'S NEST': USAID ACCUSED OF CORRUPTION, MISMANAGEMENT LONG BEFORE TRUMP ADMIN TOOK AIM
"The truth is: the American people have lost faith in foreign assistance. They’ve lost faith in how we carry out this work. Nevertheless, today you’re here to think big and tell us how foreign assistance can be optimally effective," he added.
Trump went to Capitol Hill Tuesday evening to deliver his first address to a joint session of Congress since returning to the White House in January. In the speech, Trump celebrated his administration's immediate pause to foreign aid.
President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, March 4, 2025. (Ben Curtis/The Associated Press)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Democrats and government employees have railed against the Trump administration and DOGE's work auditing the federal government, and some Democratic lawmakers even held up signs reading "Musk lies" during Trump's address Tuesday.
Fox News Digital's Breanne Deppisch and Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/internal-state-dept-memo-reveals-brass-question-us-government-should-in-business-philanthropy