Chief of Staff Says She Was 'Aghast' at the USAID Dismantling

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles publicly stated that she had initially been "aghast" at the manner in which Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency dismantled USAID, offering a critical assessment of the process from within the administration's senior leadership.

The admission is notable because it came from the administration's own senior internal manager rather than an external critic, indicating that concerns about the execution of a major government reorganization were shared inside the White House itself. It bears on questions of interagency process, oversight, and the manner in which a significant federal agency was restructured or dismantled.

Wiles's statement was made publicly as of the source date; the record does not indicate any resulting policy reversal.