USAID Website Goes Down Amid Reports of Trump Administration’s Plans to Take Control

The website for USAID, the U.S. government agency responsible for distributing foreign aid, went down on Saturday, leaving users unable to access the site. The outage comes as every federal website has been ordered to remove "forbidden words," although it is unclear whether USAID’s outage is related to reports that Donald Trump plans to put most of the agency under the control of the U.S. State Department.

Reports Suggest USAID Website Redirected to White House Website

Posts on X suggest that the USAID website may have redirected to the White House website for a time before going dark completely. However, Gizmodo was unable to independently confirm this information. USAID’s press office did not immediately respond to questions emailed on Saturday.

Similar Outages at Other Government Websites

The U.S. Census Bureau’s website, census.gov, went offline around 5 p.m. ET on Friday. This disruption occurred shortly after CBS News reporter Jennifer Jacobs tweeted that some government websites were slated to go dark on Friday evening at precisely 5 p.m., citing White House officials. Jacobs reported later that the outage at government websites was related to an attempt to remove "diversity-related content" from the websites.

CDC Plans to Scrub Website of LGBT-Related Content

Gizmodo reported on Friday that the CDC had been ordered to scrub its website of all "gender ideology," a euphemism for anything that Trump opposes relating to LGBT rights and the role of women in society. Elizabeth Murray, a pediatrician who specializes in treating children who are victims of sexual abuse, reported on TikTok that an app from the CDC that tells doctors how to treat kids who have been raped had been taken offline.

CDC’s HIV Data Removed

The CDC’s website has been stripped of vital information, including data on HIV intended for doctors to speak with patients about treatment. A page called "HIV Nexus: CDC Resources for Clinicians" was just one of many pages on the CDC website that are no longer available, a result of the agency being directed to scrub words and entire reports that mention LGBT issues.

Impact on Other Agencies

Just about every agency seems to have been impacted by the draconian censorship and pervading culture of fear now present in the federal government apparatus. A source at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expressed concern about the way that communications were now being monitored at the EPA after a recent Microsoft software update.

U.S. Department of Justice Deletes Charges Database

The U.S. Department of Justice deleted a charges database for January 6th defendants, according to the political transparency group CREW. Given the scope of the purge, it seems likely that it could take a long time before the U.S. public has any idea how much knowledge has been scrubbed from the web by their own government.

Trump’s Ideological Purge of the Government

Trump’s ideological purge of the government has been swift, as the president has issued a flurry of executive orders and illegally attempted to shut down government spending on programs he opposes. A federal judge ruled on Friday that Trump must cease trying to stop the flow of money that had been properly allocated by Congress.

Federal Websites Under Scrutiny

Just about every federal website has been ordered to remove "forbidden words," although it is unclear what these words are or how they will be enforced. The impact of this censorship on the public is still unclear, but it is likely to have significant consequences for the government’s ability to communicate effectively with the public.