DOGE operative may have lacked authority to dismantle USAID

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 28 Oct, 13:33 · Archive

A DOGE affiliate who oversaw the firing of thousands and dissolution of USAID may not have had legal authority to do so.

Jeremy Lewin, a 28-year-old affiliate of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, oversaw the dismantling of USAID and the firing of thousands of federal employees in March and April. Yet internal emails obtained by WIRED reveal he did not complete mandatory onboarding paperwork during the period spanning March 18 to April 4, when he began cancelling aid programmes and personally signed off on employee terminations. USAID security was unable to issue him an ID card because they had no records of his employment.

Lewin appeared at USAID as a policymaker on a detail from the General Services Administration, and was installed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Adam Korzeniewski, the White House liaison to USAID, instructed the agency's HR department to begin onboarding him on March 20, two days after his arrival. Despite repeated requests, Lewin did not sign the paperwork typically required by law to begin work.

Lewin told WIRED that he was 'both detailed and dual appointed' by Rubio 'according to well-established authorities and with the advice of State Department and White House counsel.' However, legal experts say that whilst he performed the duties of a top USAID leader under the title Rubio gave him—deputy administrator of policy and programming and chief operating officer—it remains unclear whether he had the legal authority to do so. The questions surrounding his appointment form part of dozens of active lawsuits targeting DOGE and the Trump administration over federal workforce reductions and agency dismantlings. Lewin announced on Tuesday he was leaving the Trump administration to return to the private sector.

How it is being reported

• DOGE bro who fired thousands and ended USAID may not have had authority to make changes: reportFormer DOGE affiliate Jeremy Lewin detailed the cutting of USAID in a memorandum named: ‘USAID’s Final Mission’Independent World · 28 Oct, 13:09
• A 28-Year-Old DOGE Operative Gutted USAID. HR Had No Record of Him Working ThereDespite the agency's human resources department saying he hadn’t even been onboarded, Jeremy Lewin oversaw the destruction of USAID. It’s not clear he had the legal authority to do so.Wired · 27 Oct, 16:24

In this story: Jeremy Lewin · USAID · Marco Rubio · DOGE · State Department

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