Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ignited fury within Trump’s loyalist base after abruptly firing Peter Marocco, the hardline official tasked with dismantling USAID a move exposing deepening fractures in the administration’s “deconstruct the administrative state” agenda.
Marocco, a key figure in Trump’s efforts to gut the foreign aid agency, was barred from entering the State Department last week following a White House meeting, multiple sources confirm. While Rubio allies cite Marocco’s “bulldozer” management style and resistance to collaboration, MAGA insiders view the ouster as sabotage of Trump’s disruptive mandate.
The dismissal approved by senior White House aides after escalating tensions marks the first major intra-administration purge of a Trump loyalist. Critics accuse Rubio of insulating USAID from reform, while Rubio’s camp insists operational dysfunction necessitated the move.
The fallout underscores growing ideological rifts as establishment Republicans and Trump’s revolutionary cadre clash over executing his second-term agenda.
For continuing political coverage, visit DC Brief.
