'This Is the Way': Targeted by DOGE, Agency Staffers Refuse Entry in Tense Standoff

A small independent international aid agency on Thursday was waiting to see whether staffers from billionaire mogul Elon Musk's government advisory body would return to fire more than two dozen employees, after a standoff took place Wednesday when Musk's associates attempted to gain access to the agency's offices.

Employees of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has swept through numerous government agencies in recent weeks to seize data and dismantle their operations, arrived at about 11:30 am at the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF), which works with farmers and field staff in Africa to promote economic development.

A security guard told about 30 USADF employees that two "very young men" wearing backpacks had arrived claiming to be agency staffers, though they didn't have key cards. The men were accompanied by Pete Marocco, director of the State Department's Office of Foreign Assistance.

The USADF staffers told the security officer to refuse entry to the men, with one official telling The Washington Post that the guard's description matched that of DOGE employees who had visited the agency earlier.

The security guard ultimately allowed the men to go upstairs to where the USADF employees were working, saying they had threatened to call the U.S. Marshals.

But Musk's employees "wandered the halls" as the workers continued to go about their workday inside the USADF suite, according to the official, who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity.

On X, the social media platform owned by Musk, ProPublica reporter Brett Murphy posted a video of the DOGE workers and Marocco attempting to gain entry to the offices.

The DOGE workers left at about 12:30 pm, threatening to return on Thursday with the U.S. Marshals to gain access to the suite and fire the USADF staffers.

"This is the way," said journalist Dave Troy. "Agencies should physically deny access to the DOGE goon squad. Send them back home to cry to their mommies."

Earlier this week Ward Brehm, president of USADF, had written to Nate Cavanaugh, one of Musk's employees who has also been interviewing General Services Administration employees as DOGE seeks to slash federal funding. Brehm told Cavanaugh that he would not be in the office on Wednesday and that he'd "specifically instructed the staff of USADF to adhere to our rules and procedure of not allowing any meetings" with DOGE and Marocco without his presence.

Brehm noted in his letter that USADF is operated by a board of directors whose members are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Marocco, he pointed out, has not been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve on the board.

"Until these legal requirements are met, Mr. Marocco does not hold any position or office with USADF, and he may not speak or act on the Foundation's behalf," Brehm told Cavanaugh.

A USADF official told the Post that "it's explicit in the statute that the agency can only be dissolved by an act of Congress and the president can only be hired and fired by the board."

Trump signed an executive order last month ordering the dismantling of several foreign aid agencies and committees, including the USADF.

On Monday, DOGE staffers and Marocco entered the offices of the Inter-American Foundation and demanded access to data and the names of the agency's grantees. Staffers of the foundation were placed on administrative leave soon after.

The standoff on Wednesday caught the attention of Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who claimed that "waste, fraud, and abuse" are "synonymous" with the USADF, which does crucial life-saving work across the entire continent of Africa with a relatively tiny budget.

"Thanks to the employees of the U.S. African Development Foundation," said author and journalist Michael Deibert, "for having more guts than all the congressional Republicans combined."