Democratic Senator Places ‘Blanket Hold’ on Trump State Department Nominees Over USAID Scuffle

Democratic Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz on Monday announced that he was placing a “blanket hold” on all of President Donald Trump’s nominees for the State Department, over reports that the president is planning to close the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who leads the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, said earlier Monday that he and Trump are going to shut down the agency, as part of the department’s efforts to end wasteful spending.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also announced Monday that he was the acting director of USAID, an independent federal agency that delivers billions of dollars in humanitarian aid overseas.

“Dismantling USAID is illegal and makes us less safe. USAID was created by federal law and is funded by Congress. Donald Trump and Elon Musk can’t just wish it away with a stroke of a pen — they need to pass a law,” Schatz, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations committee, said in a statement.

“Until and unless this brazenly authoritarian action is reversed and USAID is functional again, I will be placing a blanket hold on all of the Trump administration’s State Department nominees,” he continued. “This is self-inflicted chaos of epic proportions that will have dangerous consequences all around the world.” […]

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