Well, here we go again. Another round of bureaucratic panic in Washington. This time, it’s USAID scrambling to shred, burn, and otherwise make very inconvenient documents disappear after Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the agency was getting the axe. And judging by the sheer urgency of the memo instructing staff to spend an “all day” session engaged in a good old-fashioned paper purge, it looks like somebody doesn’t want Congress—or the American people—seeing what’s been going on behind those doors.
Let’s start with Rubio’s announcement. In one fell swoop, he declared that 83% of USAID’s programs were officially canceled. That’s 5,200 contracts—tens of billions of dollars—being cut off because they either failed to serve America’s national interests or, in some cases, actively harmed them. Considering USAID has long been a bottomless pit of government waste, unaccountable foreign aid, and backdoor funding for who-knows-what, this is a historic reform. And naturally, the D.C. establishment is panicking.
Enter Politico, which got its hands on a very interesting memo from USAID’s acting executive director, Erica Carr. In it, she tells remaining staff to get to work on destroying classified and personnel documents from the agency’s headquarters at the Ronald Reagan Building. And just in case anyone thought this was optional, she made it clear: first, shred everything you can. If the shredder breaks or “needs a break” (yes, that was actually in the email), then it’s time for the burn bags. And don’t forget to label them “SECRET” in Sharpie—because nothing screams “we’re following proper protocol” like labeling burn bags full of classified documents.
So what exactly is being torched over at USAID? The email doesn’t say, which is exactly why it’s raising so many eyebrows. There’s no apparent reason for this sudden document destruction spree—except for the fact that mass layoffs are emptying out the building, and Customs and Border Protection is set to move in. And let’s be real: it’s not hard to imagine that a government agency, long notorious for its lack of oversight, might have some things it really doesn’t want sticking around once new management moves in.
ProPublica journalist Brett Murphy also got his hands on the memo and had the good sense to ask a national security attorney whether this was even legal. Turns out, no—it definitely isn’t. Under the Federal Records Act, classified records are still federal records, meaning the government can’t just go on a free-for-all destruction spree every time an agency faces a shakeup.
But of course, some Washington insiders insist this is just business as usual. Fox News contributor Ben Domenech chimed in to say that mass shredding is standard procedure, pointing out that agencies literally have trucks come by to haul away physical records. That may be true—but the difference here is that USAID’s document purge is happening right as it’s being dismantled. And given that Rubio just declared the agency was riddled with waste and corruption, it’s not hard to connect the dots.
Then, right on cue, the White House swooped in to claim this was all “fake news hysteria.” Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly posted on X to reassure everyone that there’s nothing to see here—just some “old, mostly courtesy content” getting cleaned up before CBP moves in. Oh, and don’t worry—the originals still exist on classified computer systems. So we should all just trust the government that everything’s fine and above board, right?
The USAID building will soon be occupied by CBP.
This was sent to roughly three dozen employees. The documents involved were old, mostly courtesy content (content from other agencies), and the originals still exist on classified computer systems.
More fake news hysteria! https://t.co/MLP84Mvn0t
— Anna Kelly (@AnnaKelly47) March 11, 2025
Forgive the skepticism, but when an agency is told it’s being shut down for massive mismanagement and immediately responds with an emergency shredding party, it’s not exactly a great look. And considering how much money has vanished into USAID’s hands over the years—with little to no accountability—it’s not unreasonable to wonder just what is getting tossed into those burn bags.
One thing is clear: Rubio’s cuts are just the beginning. If USAID was this much of a mess, imagine what’s hiding in other corners of the government. And if this document purge is any indication, Washington’s bureaucrats know exactly how bad it looks—which is why they’re working overtime to make sure Americans never get the full picture.
