A week ago, a federal judge said he could find no statute that gave U.S. President Donald Trump authority to appoint Peter Marocco — director of the State Department’s Office of Foreign Assistance — as head of the U.S. African Development Foundation.
Despite this, USADF staff on Tuesday began receiving letters from Marocco, asserting his role by stating that he was placing full-time employees on immediate administrative leave.
“During the period that I have you on administrative leave, I prohibit you from entering ADF premises, accessing ADF systems, or attempting to use your position or authority with ADF in any way without my prior permission or the prior permission of a supervisor in your chain of command,” wrote Marocco in the memo, which was obtained by Devex.
About the author
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene reports on USAID and the U.S. government at Devex. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for outlets like The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washingtonian magazine, among others. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for humanitarian agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
