Washington formalizes plans to shutter USAID
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The Trump administration announced plans to effectively shut down USAID, drastically reducing foreign aid spending and realigning certain functions to the State Department by 2025.
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Flowers and a sign are placed outside the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, on February 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file)
On Friday, the Trump administration revealed plans to essentially shut down the US international development agency, USAID, making official its controversial decision to significantly reduce foreign aid spending.
In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, "Today, the Department of State and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have notified Congress on their intent to undertake a reorganization that would involve realigning certain USAID functions to the Department by July 1, 2025."
He said the State Department also plans on "discontinuing the remaining USAID functions that do not align with Administration priorities."
"Unfortunately, USAID strayed from its original mission long ago," he said. "As a result, the gains were too few and the costs were too high."
Upon taking office in January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order freezing US foreign aid for 90 days. This was followed by significant cuts to various USAID programs, though some vital humanitarian aid was exempted.
The freeze has shocked and dismayed those at the independent agency, which was established by an act of Congress in 1961.
Senate Democrats on the Committee on Foreign Relations criticized the move, stating in a statement that the reorganization "will not only render it impossible for any retained USAID programs to be implemented, but the burden placed on the State Department will cause significant disruption to its core mission."
"This proposal is illegal, dangerous, and inefficient," they added.
Before its closure, USAID managed an annual budget of nearly $43 billion, providing over 40 percent of the world's humanitarian aid. Shortly after President Trump took office, most of his staff were placed on administrative leave.
USAID staff were notified on Friday in a memo about plans to eliminate all positions not mandated by law, according to several US media outlets.
In the memo, Jeremy Lewin, the acting head of the agency, reportedly mentioned that the State Department also intended to phase out most of USAID's independent operations in the coming months.
Judge blocks USAID shutdown
Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled on March 18 that Elon Musk and the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) likely violated the US Constitution by shutting down USAID, ordering the Trump administration to reverse key actions taken to dismantle the agency.
The decision by US District Judge Theodore Chuang represents a significant legal setback for the administration’s efforts to restructure federal agencies. The ruling grants an injunction that requires the Trump administration to reinstate USAID employees and contractors, restore their access to government email, security, and payment systems, and halt terminations.
Additionally, the court order mandates that USAID be allowed to return to its shuttered headquarters at the Ronald Reagan Building if the lawsuit challenging its closure is ultimately successful. The administration is expected to appeal the ruling.
The lawsuit, filed in Maryland federal district court by more than two dozen unnamed former USAID employees, centers on Musk’s role in the agency’s abrupt shutdown, including the deletion of its website and the closure of its headquarters.
