Axelrod: 'Trump will be well satisfied to have this fight' on USAID

Democratic strategist David Axelrod weighed in on the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), saying President Trump “will be well satisfied to have this fight."

“My heart is with the people out on the street outside USAID, but my head tells me: ‘Man, Trump will be well satisfied to have this fight,’” Axelrod said, according to Politico Magazine. “When you talk about cuts, the first thing people say is: Cut foreign aid.”

The article, highlighted by Mediaite, follows the turmoil at USAID after Trump named Secretary of State Marco Rubio as acting head of the agency and has seemingly moved to merge the agency with the State Department. It also comes after the president signed an executive order placing a temporary pause on new U.S. foreign development assistance.

USAID employees were recently notified that they would be placed on paid administrative leave “until further notice” and it has faced attacks from tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has called it “a ball of worms.”

Democratic lawmakers and former leaders of the development agency have expressed their opposition to Trump’s attempts to shut down USAID. A group of Senate and House Democrats were also blocked from accessing the agency headquarters earlier this week.

“Part of the problem for the Democratic Party is that it has become a stalwart defender of institutions at a time when people are enraged at institutions,” Axelrod said, per the magazine. “And they become — in the minds of a lot of voters — an elite party, and to a lot of folks who are trying to scuffle out there and get along, this will seem like an elite passion.”

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (D-Ill.) also noted Wednesday that Democrats have appeared “surprised and flat footed” after actions taken by Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on the government.

“I’m going to keep hitting this: the Democrats are THE ONLY political opposition," Kinzinger said in a post on social platform X. "They had three months to prepare for these acts.  And they seem surprised and flat footed."

The Hill has reached out to USAID, the White House and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for comment.