The delegation spoke in opposition to reports that USAID would be downsized or shut down by Elon Musk’s DOGE.
WASHINGTON — Several Democratic members of Congress rallied outside the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on Feb. 3, following an announcement by the Trump administration that it would seek to shut down the agency.
USAID is an independent agency established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 pursuant to the Foreign Assistance Act, with the mandate of overseeing humanitarian assistance to needy populations worldwide and a focus on ending extreme poverty. USAID has operated in more than 100 countries and regions—including conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Gaza—and had a budget of more than $44 billion for fiscal year 2024.
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending all U.S. foreign assistance for 90 days, pending a review of its consistency with his America First foreign policy. Several USAID employees chose to not comply with audit requests from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk, allegedly due to concerns over access to classified information.
Subsequently, USAID’s website was shut down, and DOGE employees sent staff-wide emails informing USAID employees that their headquarters would be temporarily closed—while Secretary of State Marco Rubio was appointed the acting administrator of USAID, which he announced would be downsized and merged with the Department State. In response, Democratic senators and representatives, joined by agency employees, held a rally outside USAID headquarters at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington and then entered the building in a show of solidarity with the agency.
“We are here today to shine a light on a crime that is unfolding before our eyes and support our tremendous U.S. civil servants at USAID,” said Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), the rally’s lead speaker, who represents a district in Northern Virginia where many federal employees live. “These actions severely harm our national security and put thousands of children around the world at immediate risk of starvation, disease, and death.”
Beyer and other congressional Democrats argued that disrupting USAID’s work would harm U.S. foreign policy interests to the benefit of adversarial nations, who may fill new gaps in foreign aid once provided by the country.
“The work USAID does is vital to all Americans. [Agency employees] work hand-in-hand with our military to counter terrorism and to stabilize dangerous regions. They monitor and they fight diseases like Ebola, and bird flu, to prevent them from coming to the United States,” Beyer said. “Its elimination only helps our adversaries, Russia and China, who want to see our influence reduced at any cost.”
Beyer and other speakers urged Democrats “to use every legislative tool” at their disposal “to slow down and stop” the Trump administration’s actions. On Feb. 3, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) announced that he would seek to place “holds” on Trump’s nominees to positions at the Department of State—a measure that slows the process of granting Senate advice and consent.
Beyer and Schatz were joined at the rally by Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Johnny Olszewski (D-Md.), Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.), Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.), Eugene Vindman (D-Va.), and Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.).
After the rally, the congressional representatives entered the Ronald Reagan Building, which houses other agencies in addition to USAID, such as Customs and Border Protection. It is unclear whether the delegation entered USAID’s offices.