‘This should be an alarm to all’: Ex-USAID head gives warning and knew scathing Trump report would cost his job

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “This should be an alarm to all Americans,” former USAID inspector general Paul Martin warned the country about government watchdogs being let go by Trump. He and other inspectors general are now speaking out about their termination The Journal’s Damian Paletta asked Martin: “Did you think when you put out that report, that it could cause waves, and that might be the kind of thing that would get the White House’s attention and lead for you to be fired?” “Yes,” Martin said defiantly. “That's the kind of oversight that we do.” Martin said that his team issued the report after the mass firings across USAID, warning that the move created serious risks by cutting humanitarian assistance programs around the world, “particularly in the Gaza, West Bank, area.” open image in gallery His damning report warning that $489 million worth of food assistance was at risk of spoilage after Trump’s administration dismantled USAID “So we put that alert out on Monday,” Martin recalled. Missal added that he is “very concerned about the future” if Congress doesn’t “stand up” to the administration and fight for a “truly independent inspectors general.” In response, Trump’s White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt hit out at “bureaucrats” who she claimed are “resistant to the democratic process and mandate delivered by the American people.” “President Trump is only interested in the best and most qualified people who are also willing to implement his America first agenda on behalf of the American people,” Leavitt said in a statement.