Summary
Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared himself acting administrator of USAID as the State Department took control of the humanitarian agency.
The move follows Elon Musk’s claim that Trump approved shutting down USAID. Employees were told to stay home, and its headquarters was stripped of logos and access to internal systems.
Critics argue Trump lacks the authority to dissolve USAID, while Democratic congressional staffers vow to fight the takeover.
Meanwhile, senior USAID officials have been fired or placed on leave, and its website and social media accounts have gone dark.
USAID is one of the few cases where the President probably can shut it down, because it was created by an executive order. That is not true of most other agencies that are currently being gutted.
Under the Constitution, the Congress passes laws to create agencies and control the budget. The President is responsible for executing those laws, but does not have the power to remove them or change them. Malicious compliance is a violation of the oath of office. Failing to comply at all is just plain illegal. If Congress were doing its job there would be a quick impeachment and removal from office.
The problem we face is not that the Constitution allows most of what’s going on. It is that the checks and balances in the Constitution rely on the majority of Congress and the courts to act in good faith. The founders never imagined a situation where a majority of those people would be so corrupt that they would allow a situation like this.