WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior official at Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is taking a leadership role at the U.S. Agency for International Development, according to an email obtained by The Associated Press, giving DOGE a top job at an agency that it has helped to dismantle.
Jeremy Lewin, who has played a central role in DOGE’s government-cutting efforts at USAID and other federal agencies, becomes at least the second DOGE lieutenant to be appointed to a top job at an agency during the Trump administration, further formalizing the work of Musk’s associates in the federal government.
The integral role that DOGE teams have played in the administration’s push to dramatically reduce the size of the government has been divisive among the public and lawmakers. Musk has faced heavy blowback from some and support from others for his chainsaw-wielding approach to laying off workers and slashing programs.
Pete Marocco, a Trump administration political appointee who was serving as deputy head of USAID, disclosed the change in an email Tuesday to State Department staff. It comes after Marocco and DOGE oversaw the gutting of 83% of USAID contracts, shifting the remaining programs under the State Department.
Marocco said in his email that he will serve as the State Department’s director of foreign assistance. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce on Wednesday confirmed his appointment.