2 USAID Security Officials Put on Leave After Refusing DOGE Access to Classified Docs

The Trump administration put two U.S. Agency for International Development security officials on administrative leave late Saturday after they refused to grant employees from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency access to classified files, in the latest example of DOGE's attempt to impose its will on the federal government.

The DOGE members were ultimately able to see the files, which were located in a restricted area and included intelligence reports, a former U.S. official toldThe Associated Press on Sunday.

Matt Hopson, who was appointed by Trump as USAID's chief of staff, resigned after the security officials were put on leave, sources familiar with the situation toldReuters.

The incident at USAID came the day after a similar struggle in the Treasury Department, in which a top official resigned after refusing to grant DOGE access to the payment system that disburses Social Security, Medicare, and other government funds. DOGE was then able to access that system as well.

CNN described the Saturday night tussle at USAID:

According to sources, personnel from the Musk-created office physically tried to access the USAID headquarters in Washington, D.C. and were stopped. The DOGE personnel demanded to be let in and threatened to call U.S. Marshals to be allowed access, two of the sources said.

The DOGE personnel wanted to gain access to USAID security systems and personnel files, three sources said. Two of those sources also said the DOGE personnel wanted access to classified information, which only those with security clearances and a specific need to know are able to access.

A former and a current U.S. official told AP that the security officers were required by law to block the DOGE team's access because its members lacked the proper security clearance. The officials were identified as USAID Director of Security John Voorhees and his deputy Brian McGill.

Following the incident, Musk lashed out at USAID on social media several times on Sunday, calling it a "criminal organization" and saying it was "time for it to die."

The Washington Post reported that "by Sunday afternoon, USAID's X account had been taken down, with a message saying the account 'doesn't exist.'"

USAID has been in the crosshairs of the Trump administration and Musk's attempts to cut government spending since President Donald Trump took office in January. On his first day, Trump issued an executive order pausing foreign aid spending for 90 days, which was followed by a January 24 State Department directive mandating that the government not provide any assistance through USAID without department approval.

The administration then placed dozens of senior USAID officials on leave, arguing without proof that they were violating the spending freeze. Further, it forced Nicholas Gottlieb, director of employee and labor relations at USAID, on administrative leave after he refused to carry out a rash of firings demanded by the administration and DOGE, which he deemed "illegal."

On Sunday morning, nearly 30 USAID Legislative and Public Affairs employees discovered they had lost email access, according to Reuters, raising the total number of USAID employees put on administrative leave to almost 100.

CNN recounted reports that the administration wants to close USAID and bring it under the fold of the State Department. Its website stopped working on Saturday.

However, USAID is not the only government agency that has been targeted by Musk's DOGE, which has also locked career civil servants out of a database of federal employees at the Office of Personnel Management. Musk's allies have reportedly taken control of the agency.