A senior official from
Elon Musk 's Department of Government Efficiency is taking a leadership role at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), giving DOGE authority at an agency DOGE has worked to dismantle, The Associated Press reported. Secretary of State
Marco Rubio designated Jeremy Lewin as deputy administrator for policy and programs at USAID and as chief operating officer, Pete Marocco, a Trump administration political appointee who was serving as deputy head of USAID, said in an email to State Department staff on Tuesday, according to the AP. Marocco said Rubio had also appointed Kenneth Jackson as administrator for management and resources and chief financial officer of the agency.
Jackson was also recently appointed the acting president of the U.S. Institute for Peace, an independent nonprofit focused on conflict resolution. Marocco said in the email that he would be returning to his role as the State Department's director of foreign assistance.
Newsweek has contacted the State Department for comment via email. Marocco and DOGE oversaw the cutting of 83 percent of USAID contracts, with the remaining programs folded into the State Department. Marocco's email came the day
a federal judge ruled that Musk and DOGE likely violated the Constitution when helping the Trump administration fire staffers and terminate contracts at USAID. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang's order indefinitely blocked DOGE from making further cuts to the agency.
How Many Jobs Has DOGE Cut So Far?
Tens of thousands of job losses have been announced across numerous federal agencies. The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate its scientific research office and could fire more than 1,000 scientists and other employees, the AP reported on Tuesday. Last week, it was reported that the Internal Revenue Service
plans to lose about 18,000 employees , or about 20 percent of its workforce. Meanwhile, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told
Congress that 10,000 workers at the United States Postal Service would be cut within a month. The Department of Education last week announced plans to lay off
more than 1,300 employees , while the Department of Veterans Affairs is planning a reorganization that includes cutting 80,000 jobs, according to an internal memo obtained by the AP this month. Meanwhile, the
Pentagon is
reportedly planning to cut its civilian workforce by about 50,000 to 60,000 people. At least 24,000 probationary workers have been terminated since Trump took office, according to a lawsuit filed by nearly 20 states alleging the mass firings are illegal. Last week, two federal judges
ordered 19 federal agencies to reinstate probationary workers who were fired. Meanwhile,
about 75,000 federal workers accepted the offer to quit in return for receiving pay and benefits until September 30.
How Much Spending Has DOGE Cut So Far?
DOGE has said its efforts have saved the federal government an estimated $115 billion as of March 11—just a tiny fraction of Musk's
$1 trillion cost-cutting goal . DOGE says the receipts provided on its website—showing contract, grant, and lease cancellations—represent about 30 percent of total savings, meaning the top-line figure is not yet verifiable. According to the Musk Watch DOGE Tracker designed by data analyst Brian Banks, the verifiable savings, as of March 11, were about $8.6 billion.
Is DOGE a Government Agency?
Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office on January 20,
officially creating DOGE to modernize "federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity." Despite its name, it is not a government agency created by an act of Congress but a task force charged with targeting waste and fraud in the federal government.
