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Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee are calling for an immediate hearing to investigate potential actions by the Trump administration aimed at dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In a letter directed to House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R-Fla.), Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and other committee members expressed concerns over reports suggesting that the U.S. foreign aid system is being disrupted and potentially illegal changes are being proposed.

Meeks and his colleagues are urging Mast to quickly convene a hearing with key figures, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Peter Marocco, the director of foreign assistance, before the upcoming Congressional recess begins on February 13. This request follows a troubling notification from Rubio, who is currently acting as the administrator of USAID, that U.S. foreign assistance is under review with possible plans to reorganize the agency.

The letter from Democrats emphasizes that USAID is an independent entity established by law and that any efforts to alter its structure or mission would require Congressional approval. As the letter points out, a reorganization of this magnitude cannot be done by executive order or without the proper legislative process.

While the Trump administration has argued for consolidating USAID under the State Department, which Mast has shown support for, the current situation has led to widespread confusion and operational disruption. USAID offices were shut down, employees were instructed to telework, and a significant portion of the agency’s staff was furloughed. The administration also implemented a 90-day freeze on nearly all foreign assistance and issued stop-work orders. Although the State Department has granted waivers for some emergency humanitarian efforts, the overall confusion has severely hampered the agency’s ability to function effectively.

The debate over USAID’s future is just the latest flashpoint in the larger battle over how the U.S. should conduct its foreign assistance, and it underscores the growing tension between the Trump administration’s approach to government reorganization and the traditional structures that have been in place for decades.