The inspector general for the U.S. Agency for International Development was fired on Tuesday – one day after his office issued a critical report warning that nearly $500 million in food was about to go bad due to President Donald Trump’s freeze on the agency.
Paul Martin, who had been appointed inspector general for the agency by former president Joe Biden in 2023, was informed by email from the Office of Presidential Personnel that his position was terminated “effective immediately.”
It occurred one day after Martin’s office released a scathing report that warned more than $489 million worth of food assistance was at risk of spoilage after the Trump administration issued an unclear aid freeze guidance, ordered staff to refrain from “external communications” and placed more than 90 percent of USAID workforce on paid administrative leave.
The office said that while initial guidance provided a funding waiver for emergency food assistance, shipments were delayed globally because staff faced conflicting instructions and were concerned about breaking the order on external communications.
“According to USAID staff, this uncertainty put more than $489 million of food assistance at ports, in transit, and in warehouses at risk of spoilage, unanticipated storage needs, and diversion,” the report says.
The purpose of the inspector general is to conduct independent investigations and audits into any potential fraud, waste or abuse and issue recommendations of its findings – something slowly being replaced by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
After Musk asserted that USAID was “radical” and a “criminal organization,” the administration sought to all but formally dissolve the agency and merge it with the State Department to be overseen by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The administration has attempted to put thousands of workers on administrative leave and remove contractors who assist the agency. Though a federal judge has temporarily blocked the plan to place staff on leave, it’s clear Musk and Trump plan to follow through with their plan to make massive cuts to the agency.
For six decades, USAID has worked to fight starvation, fund education and work to end disease globally. The U.S. is the world’s largest humanitarian donor despite spending less than 1 percent of its budget on foreign assistance, according to the Associated Press.
Lawmakers have lambasted the Trump administration’s decision to dismantle the agency, claiming that may only be done by an act of Congress.
Organizations that represent USAID workers, companies that contract with USAID, and non-profits have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration, asserting that it does not have the authority to axe the funding that was expressly provided by Congress.
Martin’s termination is also subject to some regulations. The administration is required to provide Congress 30 days' notice before firing an inspector general and provide specific reasons for terminating watchdogs.
Martin was career official having previously served as inspector general for NASA for 14 years and deputy inspector general at the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General for more than 12 years.
