President Donald Trump’s White House fired the inspector general for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on Tuesday.
The move marks another step in Trump’s ongoing efforts to overhaul government agencies that have long operated with little accountability.
USAID Inspector General Paul Martin was dismissed around 6 p.m. local time, according to a source familiar with the matter.
No official reason was given for his termination, though the timing suggests it was linked to his office’s recent criticism of the administration’s handling of foreign aid.
On Monday, Martin’s office published a six-page report detailing how the State Department’s freeze on foreign assistance, coupled with staff reductions at USAID, had created what it called “risks and challenges” in overseeing the agency’s $8.2 billion in undisbursed humanitarian assistance.
“Specifically, USAID’s existing oversight controls—albeit with previously identified shortcomings—are now largely nonoperational given these recent directives and personnel actions,” the inspector general’s office wrote in its report.
Trump Administration Moves to Rein in Foreign Aid Bureaucracy
The Trump administration has been vocal about its commitment to cutting excessive foreign aid spending and holding government agencies accountable.
In the past two weeks alone, Trump has fired at least 17 inspectors general, including those overseeing the State Department, Energy Department, Defense Department, and Department of Veterans Affairs.
The administration has also placed a majority of USAID staff on leave and shut down the agency’s headquarters in Washington.
USAID, long criticized for its mismanagement of taxpayer dollars, has been a target of reform under Trump.
The Monday report from Martin’s office criticized the administration’s staffing reductions, stating that “recent widespread staffing reductions across the Agency, particularly within BHA, coupled with uncertainty about the scope of foreign assistance waivers and permissible communications with implementers, has degraded USAID’s ability to distribute and safeguard taxpayer-funded humanitarian assistance.”
However, Trump’s supporters argue that slashing unnecessary bureaucracy within USAID is long overdue.
The agency has been known for its inefficient distribution of foreign aid, often sending billions overseas with little oversight or measurable impact.
While critics, particularly in the media, have framed Trump’s dismissal of inspectors general as politically motivated, his administration has maintained that these moves are necessary to ensure transparency and accountability.
Inspectors general are supposed to investigate fraud, waste, and abuse within government agencies, but many have been accused of acting as partisan watchdogs, targeting conservative administrations while turning a blind eye to Democrat-led corruption.
By removing entrenched bureaucrats like Martin, Trump is sending a clear message that government agencies must answer to the American people—not unelected officials with their own agendas.
