Pete Marocco stepped down after leading a fast takedown of USAID. He told staff he finished his job and moved back to the State Department. He claimed the agency was now stable and accountable.
He did not mention the lawsuits. He did not mention the court order.
A federal judge called the move unconstitutional. The ruling forced Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency to unlock employee access to email, security, and payment systems.
Marocco left behind a stripped agency with no headquarters and barely any staff.
New Leaders Step in With No Track Record
Two political appointees took over. Jeremy Lewin will serve as Chief Operating Officer and handle policy. Ken Jackson will control budgets and management.
Lewin is 28. He graduated law school in 2022. His past includes brief work at a law firm and writing with liberal legal scholar Laurence Tribe.
No sign of hands-on government experience.
Highlights
- Over 80 percent of USAID programs lost funding
- Thousands of workers were fired
- Washington office shut down
- Key aid in Africa and Southeast Asia collapsed
- Court blocked further dismantling
- Internal access systems had to be restored immediately
Global Aid Impact
The freeze hit food shipments, medical supply chains, disaster recovery, and clean water efforts. Some aid groups said children died due to the shutdown.
A former USAID health coordinator in Nairobi said hospitals ran out of critical supplies in less than two weeks. Another relief manager in Bangladesh reported clinics closed across multiple districts.
The health clinic where Alice Okwirry collects her HIV medication in Kenya’s capital Nairobi has been rationing supplies of antiretrovirals to one-month refills since the US government froze foreign aid https://t.co/2Ova4Un22B
โ Reuters (@Reuters) March 11, 2025
What Comes Next
Court fights will decide how much of USAID can be restored. Programs may take years to rebuild. Legal teams for former workers filed claims for wrongful termination and breach of federal law.
Sources inside State say confusion rules. The agency has no full plan for recovery. Many programs may never return.
More fallout expected as oversight hearings begin in Congress next week.
Trump keeps dominating headlines. His two biggest moves so far are the USAID takedown and the new tariffs targeting multiple countries.
