Under Pete Marocco\u2019s lead, nearly all USAID staff was fired, with funding slashed and contractors dismissed<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete Marocco, the Trump administration<\/a> official who played a major role in dismantling the US Agency for International Development (USAID<\/a>), has left the state department, a US official said on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s administration has moved to fire nearly all USAID staff<\/a>, as billionaire Elon Musk<\/a>\u2019s so-called \u201cdepartment of government efficiency\u201d has slashed funding and dismissed contractors across the federal bureaucracy in what it calls an attack on wasteful spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPete was brought to state with a big mission \u2013 to conduct an exhaustive review of every dollar spent on foreign assistance. He conducted that historic task and exposed egregious abuses of taxpayer dollars,\u201d a senior administration official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe all expect big things are in store for Pete on his next mission,\u201d the official added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sources told Reuters that Marocco, who was the director of foreign assistance at the state department, may have been pushed out but they declined to give further explanation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As recently as Thursday, he held a \u201clistening session\u201d at the state department with nearly two dozen experts to discuss the future of foreign assistance and seek input, according to a source familiar with the event and an invitation to the session seen by Reuters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When he returned to the state department less than a month ago, he said in an internal email: \u201cI am going to return to my post as the Director of Foreign Assistance to bring value back to the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n