Marco Rubio Said Nobody Died Because of USAID Cuts. New Evidence Proves He Lied.

"For four weeks, they had been working overtime to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, freezing thousands of programs, including ones that provided food, water and medicine around the world. They'd culled USAID's staff and abandoned its former headquarters in the stately Ronald Reagan Building, shunting the remnants of the agency to what was once an overflow space in a glass-walled commercial office above Nordstrom Rack and a bank."

"There, the crew of newly minted political figures told the office manager to create a moat of 90 empty desks around them so no one could hear them talk. They ignored questions and advice from career staff with decades of experience in the field. Despite the steps to insulate themselves, dire warnings poured in from diplomats and government experts around the world. The cuts would cost countless lives, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the other Trump officials were told repeatedly."

"The team of aides pressed on, galvanized by two men who did little to hide their disdain for the agency: first Peter Marocco, a blunt-spoken Marine veteran, and then 28-year-old Jeremy Lewin, who, despite having no government or aid experience, often personally decided which programs should be axed. By the third week in February, they were on track to wipe out 90 percent of USAID's work."

On the one-month anniversary of President Trump's inauguration, a group of appointed aides moved quickly to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development. Over four weeks they froze thousands of programs that provided food, water, and medicine, culled staff, and abandoned the agency's Ronald Reagan Building headquarters for an overflow commercial office. The appointees created a 'moat' of empty desks to insulate themselves and ignored career staff advice. Diplomats and government experts warned that the cuts would cost countless lives. Two leaders, Peter Marocco and Jeremy Lewin, drove decisions that threatened to eliminate the bulk of USAID's work.

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