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The Trump administration has expanded the power of adviser Elon Musk’s government-cutting team over the State Department, making a Musk lieutenant acting head of all foreign assistance there.
A senior U.S. official confirmed the new job for Jeremy Lewin, an associate of the Department of Government Efficiency earlier appointed to help finish dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development. The official was not authorized to speak publicly on a personnel matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The move comes as President Donald Trump’s administration is pushing to greatly reduce what in 2024 was $52 billion in humanitarian, health and development programs overseas by the State Department and USAID. Lewin’s appointment gives Musk’s team, which has worked with the Republican administration to make deep cuts to government programs and services, one of its highest formal roles in the federal government.
Lewin’s appointment follows the departure of a Trump political appointee, Pete Marocco, as the administration’s head of foreign assistance. State officials credited Marocco with helping oversee the elimination of staff, programs and funding at USAID. Marocco in the role reportedly clashed with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others in the administration and Congress.
