Protesters storm House of Representatives in Washington: Anti-Trump demonstrations continue in the US

A USAID hearing held at the House Foreign Affairs Committee was interrupted by a protest. The activists protested against Republicans and Trump during the discussion on US President Donald Trump's freezing of USAID funding.

A group of demonstrators interrupted the session to protest the Washington administration's decisions regarding the Agency. The protesters were removed from the hall by police teams. While a scuffle broke out between police and activists in front of the House, Republican members of Congress reacted to the protesters. Chanting 'Give back the AIDS fund now,' the protesters carried banners reading 'Trump is killing people with AIDS.'

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast stated the following in his speech after the protest:

''I guess these guys don't watch the news. They haven't realized that PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) is one of many programs proven to be life-saving, and that is why the funding has been restored.''

USAID DEBATES IN THE US

Immediately after taking office on January 20, Trump signed an executive order regarding foreign aid. The order stated that the US would cut payments made to foreign countries by all ministries and agencies responsible for foreign development aid programs, and that a 90-day review period had been initiated to evaluate the program's alignment with US foreign policy.

The US Department of State also announced on January 27 that all foreign aid funded by the Department and USAID had been suspended. Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), had announced that employees were placed on administrative leave due to issues he had with USAID administrators. The agency's social media accounts were also shut down.

The US District Court for the District of Columbia had announced that the execution of the decision regarding placing USAID employees on administrative leave had been temporarily suspended.

News Source: AA