Within the State Department, it is fostering ways to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Trump administration officials say the State Department is split into two factions, between those who are primarily loyal to the president and those who have been joined by mild Republican senators who are cut off by the cuts in USAID. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been under pressure from former Senate colleagues to not completely dismantle USAID, and he initially doesn’t want to take on the job when asked by Elon Musk and his government efficiency (DOGE), several Trump administration officials told callers.

Reducing unnecessary spending was a top priority for Trump and Doge, and early on, USAID was one of the first institutions to target. However, the process of doing so was clearly controversial.

Once upon a time, before the Cold War ended, I was raised by my family to love USAID.

It cannot be fully emphasized that the mission had changed so quickly and fundamentally during the Clinton era. It’s corrupted now. https://t.co/m8buwo6he2

– Jeff Breharl is *Box-office venom* (@ESOTERICCD) February 14, 2025

“[Rubio] He’s constantly getting calls from his senators… When he gets calls from a senator or a House member, Mike Needham and Dan Horror suddenly say, “Ahhh, you better do this. Officials in the Trump administration told the caller, “We’d better get this member what they want.” On the contrary, it seems as if it hadn’t happened. ”

Needham, formerly Senate President of Rubio, now plays the same role in the State Department. Horror is his vice-chief of staff.

A second Trump administration official identified Needham as a key interlocutor between the senators lobbying against Kat and Rubio.

One administration official added that there is lobbying for Rubio as many senators have a vested interest in maintaining pet projects funded by USAID. Sources added that Rubio might want to keep some of these programs alive in the hopes of bringing USAID back in the long term.

These senators include part of the Budget Committee. They are lobbying heavily to Rubio and its staff to reduce the reduction in USAID. Republican Senator About the Committee Includes Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. (Related: Institutional Republicans cultivate ugly heads against Trump’s biggest victory)

“We’re so happy that USAID – as we know, it doesn’t exist anymore,” Graham told the caller. A senator spokesman told callers that Graham has not been lobbying to maintain USAID and that he supports the integration of agencies under the State Department’s control.

McConnell’s office did not respond to daily caller requests for comment.

Even after plans and plans by staff to cut down certain programs, Rubio will occasionally plummet after lobbying from the Senate to oppose certain cuts, sources said.

A State Department official told the caller, “I don’t know where this is coming from,” and March Statement From the department about the work they are doing to finish USAID by September. Officials said the Doge team is working with the department without conflict, with the reductions going as planned, and the confusion over that was “categorically wrong.”

However, he told sources that tensions begin with Doge and Rubio.

Two sources told callers they were not keen to directly oversee the USAID gush when Rubio was pushed by Elon Musk and Dozi. Thus, Pete Marrocco was brought to lead the charges to remove the agency and worked with Doge, sources added.

Wall Street Journal It has been reported On Sunday, Marrocco was not in the State Department, and senior State Department officials passed on the same information to senders.

🧵WSJ: “Marrocco found out that his time in the state ended last week. To someone near him.

– Laura Rozen (@lrozen) April 14, 2025

“President Trump keeps his promise to the American people, and I am absolutely certain that he will achieve his agenda of making America safer, stronger and more prosperous,” Marrocco told the caller in a statement.

“President Trump and his team are extremely grateful for Pete Marrocco’s work in achieving his mission to revise longtime American foreign support companies,” White House assistant reporter Anna Kelly told the caller. “His work has carried out many of the president’s priorities to eliminate waste and restore accountability to taxpayers. He will remain a welcome figure in the president’s move to make America great again.”

Recently,Homme members of the team working to cut down on USAID have avoided illness due to concerns that they cannot move from State Department buildings to USAID buildings, avoid illness or work. Some are moving thinking about whether there is still enough opportunity to implement the presidential agenda, while others feel that they need a safe place to work without fear of surveillance.

An official from one administration has identified State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce as the next target that could be ousted from the department. Bruce’s appointment raised an eyebrow earlier this year due to past statements critical of Rubio. State Department officials declined to comment on the issue.

Officials also rejected the idea that Rubio or his staff were being shaken by lobbying from the Senate.

“Secretary Rubio… is the Secretary of State to the US President,” added a State Department official.

Dylan Housman contributed to this report.