Donald Trump fires USAID inspector general Paul Martin: Reports

The White House on Tuesday fired the inspector general for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Paul Martin, a day after his office published a report critical of President Donald Trump administration's effort to eliminate the agency, reported the Reuters.

Since December 2023, Paul Martin has served as the agency's inspector general, a position that required US Senate confirmation.

According to the report, Martin's was informed about his termination Trent Morse, deputy director of the Office of Presidential Personnel.

In the email, sent by Trent Morse, Martin was informed that his position as USAID inspector general was terminated 'effective immediately,' Reuters quoted the email as saying. However, no specific reason was mentioned.

What the USAID IG's report had said?

Earlier on Monday, the USAID IG's office released a report saying Trump administration's move to dismantle USAID has crippled its ability to conduct oversight of unspent aid worth $8.2 billion.

The report also added that staff cuts and stop-work orders have made it difficult to ensure taxpayer-funded aid would end up in the hands of those intended.

Since January 20, after U.S. President Donald Trump took over the White House and ordered a freeze on most U.S. foreign aid, saying he wanted to ensure it was aligned with his "America First" policy, hundreds of USAID programs across the globe representing billions of dollars of U.S. assistance came to a halt.

On Tuesday, President Trump called USAID 'incompetent and corrupt', tasking billionaire Elon Musk with scaling down the agency, which had more than 10,000 staff at home and overseas.

Last week, the Trump Administration took steps to put most of USAID's workforce on administrative leave; however, a judge blocked the move on Friday.

Reuters added that in FY 2023, the US disbursed $72 billion of aid worldwide on initiatives including women's health in conflict zones, clean water access, HIV/AIDS treatments, energy security and anti-corruption work. Also, the US provided 42 per cent of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024.

With agency inputs.