The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced Tuesday that the Inter-American Foundation has removed all but one employee from its payroll in order to comply with President Trump’s executive order on reducing federal bureaucracy. 

The independent federal agency will be headed solely by Peter Marocco, Director of the Office of Foreign Assistance State Department who also serves as deputy administrator of USAID, tasked with gutting US foreign spending.

He will replace fired IAF president and CEO Sara Aviel as well as the entire board of directors according to a letter sent Friday, Feb. 28,  by the chair of the agency’s now-defunct board obtained by the Guardian.

The move was not well received by the agency — which prior to the downsizing had a headcount to 48 and the average employee salary was $131,000 per year, according to the Elon Musk-headed DOGE. 

“We do not consider the assignment of Peter Marocco to the role of board chairman … to be a valid appointment as required by IAF’s enabling statute,” Eddy Arriola, the Senate-confirmed chair of the agency’s board, wrote in a letter addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House officials and lawmakers.

Arriola asked Aviel to “deny access to IAF’s systems and files to anyone outside the organization” and said that any moves made by Marocco “while improperly designated should be voided,” The Guardian reported.

But Marocco and DOGE officials marched into the agency’s headquarters in DC on Monday and officially declared Marocco to be in charge and demanded access to IA’ data and the names of  organization’s grantees, sources told the paper.

The Inter-American Foundation, created by Congress in 1969, issues grants to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean for “localized community-led development,” according to the agency’s website. 

The agency has awarded some 5,800 grants valued at more than $945 million since 1972 and argues that its approach is “increasingly recommended as the most effective way to improve the quality of life in marginalized communities.”

The cost-cutting initiative, led by billionaire Tesla CEO Musk, highlighted several examples of Inter-American Foundation grants that were canceled through the severe reduction, including: 

The cuts were made in response to Trump’s Feb. 19 executive order, which deemed federal spending on Inter-American Foundation; the Presidio Trust; the United States African Development Foundation; and the United States Institute of Peace “unnecessary.” 

“The non-statutory components and functions of the following governmental entities shall be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law, and such entities shall reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law,” read the order. 

The Trump administration has scrutinized foreign aid spending as it seeks to root out waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government. 

The president has tasked Musk and his DOGE team to lead that effort as well as see that his executive orders are implemented and enforced. 

The Trump administration plans to eliminate roughly $60 billion in foreign aid spending, including by terminating 92% of grants issued by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and 45% of grants issued by the State Department. 

DOGE claims it has saved about $55 billion since launching the price-slashing spree.

The Inter-American Foundation did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.