U.S. lawmakers were blocked from meeting with staff members from the U.S. Agency for International Development on Monday, with a representative from USAID stating that it would be “best to contact” the U.S. Department of State instead.
“They referred us to the State Department as if USAID had already been rolled in,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, speaking outside the agency’s building.
The members of Congress were surrounded by hundreds of current and former USAID staff, media, and some from the State Department, all of whom had gathered to protest the disintegration of USAID over the last two weeks. More than a dozen lawmakers came to the building — closed on Monday to nearly all USAID staff members — with a single message: that what was happening to the world’s largest donor was illegal.
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.
