On March 18, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio handed the reins of the US Agency for International Development to Jeremy Lewin, a 28-year-old graduate of Harvard Law School, former investment banker, and affiliate of Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency . At the time, Lewin’s appointment drew criticism because of his lack of experience in government, diplomacy, or foreign assistance. But for career staff inside the agency, the issues surrounding Lewin’s new role were much more alarming than his thin résumé.

For at least two months, USAID senior staff had no knowledge of how Lewin, who appeared at the agency one day as a policymaker on an obscure detail from the General Services Administration, could have suddenly begun wielding the powers of the agency’s top official.

Internal USAID emails reviewed by WIRED reveal that during the three-week period of March 18 to April 4, during which Lewin began canceling lifesaving aid programs and personally signed off on the termination of…