Grumbling USAID leaders escorted out of building after attempt to-block access for DOGE

DOGE despair continued to sweep establishment bureaucrats as officials from one “criminal organization” agency were escorted out after an attempted stand of resistance.

“No one feels safe…”

Among the top priorities of President Donald Trump, establishing the Department of Government Efficiency kicked off the stated objective of reducing the federal budget by at least $2 trillion as of July 2026. Over the weekend, the Elon Musk-led department came knocking at a number of agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, leading to two security officials getting placed on leave.

NBC News reported that John Voorhees, USAID director of security, and his deputy, Brian McGill, were ultimately escorted out of the building after threatening to call U.S. Marshals when DOGE employees arrived seeking access to agency systems.

“No one feels safe to go anywhere near the Ronald Reagan Building,” one official told the outlet. “We just had Elon Musk call us a criminal organization. Our security chief was escorted out. We know we are being surveilled by DOGE.”

Musk did in fact refer to the agency as such in reaction to a post that touched on Saturday’s attempt to block DOGE as well as Trump’s consideration of folding USAID into the State Department toward the goal of shrinking the federal government.

It was said that dozens of the agency’s roughly 10,000 employees were already put on leave for their attempts to thwart the president’s executive orders regarding a freeze on foreign aid. Additionally, over 1,000 employees and contractors were fired or furloughed as a result of the selective freeze on foreign aid.

“USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die,” wrote Musk on X as he’d also said in an X Spaces session, “It became apparent that it’s not an apple with a worm [in it]. What we have is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It’s beyond repair… We’re shutting it down.”

The Associated Press was treated as purveyors of misinformation by DOGE member Katie Miller who reacted to the report that the USAID security chiefs were allegedly placed on leave having “refused to turn over classified material” to DOGE.

“No classified material was accessed without proper security clearances,” she unequivocally posted on X while the agency’s website joined others in going dark.

Meanwhile, Musk reiterated his position that USAID was a “criminal organization” as he commented on investigative journalist Walter Curt’s findings that the agency approved more than $6 million in contracts Friday that included $100,000 for “Miscellaneous Foreign Awardees” despite the president’s freeze.

“There should never be a payment sent out with American Tax dollars that is listed under ‘Miscellaneous’ ever again,” argued Curt. “Let alone to a foreign nation.”

Amid other reports on wasteful spending that included $47,000 for a “transgender opera” in Colombia, $32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in Peru, $15 million for condoms to the Taliban, and an even more dramatic $50 million toward condoms for Gaza, a spokesperson for the Department of State said, “The mandate from the American people was clear — we must focus on American national interests.”

“The Department and USAID take their role as stewards of taxpayer dollars very seriously. The implementation of this Executive Order and the Secretary’s direction furthers that mission,” continued the spokesperson. “As Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, ‘Every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?”

Meanwhile, as DOGE gained access to the USAID systems, as well as those at the Treasury Department from a similar operation that prompted a Treasury official to resign, the president told reporters exactly what he thought of the people who had been in charge doling out dollars for humanitarian assistance with a budget of $50 billion.

Speaking from the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews on Sunday, Trump said, “It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics, and we’re getting them out, USAID run by radical lunatics, and we’re getting them out, and then we’ll make a decision.”

Kevin Haggerty

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