Game Over for USAID Corruption? How Trump’s Power Moves Are Shaking Up DC

The era of freewheeling taxpayer giveaways at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is facing a brick wall, courtesy of President Trump’s latest shake-up. After a surge of scandals that read like a D.C. soap opera—complete with shady grants and bloated budgets—Trump installed Senator Marco Rubio as acting director, locked the doors, and told staff to stay home until the dust settles.

Liberal pundits are in hysterics, blaming the administration for dismantling their sacred piggy bank, yet Politico recently hinted at deeper structural problems within the agency, signaling this overhaul was long overdue. For years, insiders allegedly took advantage of the “money faucet” approach, funneling cash into questionable projects. Now, with the faucet turned off, everyone’s going to have to earn a dollar the old-fashioned way—by actually working.

Meanwhile, DOGE fans are cheering from the digital rooftops, thrilled that Trump’s “drain the swamp” mantra is crashing headfirst into entrenched bureaucracies. They want to see an end to cushy government benefits for those who just know how to game the system. So, bring on the housecleaning, Mr. President. If closing an agency’s revolving door of corruption irks the establishment, that’s probably a sign it needed to be done yesterday.