Trump Administration Closes 64-Year-Old USAID, Drawing Bush and Obama Rebuke

The U.S. Agency for International Development has officially ceased operations, ending a 64-year run as Washington’s main vehicle for foreign aid. All remaining functions were folded into the State Department on 1 July, completing an overhaul ordered by President Donald Trump and branded by officials as an “America First” realignment of overseas assistance.

The shutdown caps a months-long effort led by the Department of Government Efficiency, the cost-cutting unit once headed by Elon Musk. In March the agency scrapped roughly 80 percent of its programmes and trimmed its global workforce from about 10,000 employees and contractors to fewer than 300. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the consolidation will curb “government-sanctioned inefficiency” and ensure every aid dollar advances U.S. strategic interests.

Former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, appearing with U2 singer Bono in a video farewell to staff on 30 June, condemned the decision. Obama labelled the move “a colossal mistake,” while Bush pointed to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief—credited with saving 25 million lives—as evidence that development aid strengthens U.S. national interests.

Humanitarian organisations echoed their concerns, citing a study in The Lancet estimating that the loss of U.S. support could lead to more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030, one-third of them children. Since its creation by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, USAID has channelled hundreds of billions of dollars into health, food security and disaster-relief programmes worldwide.